Scarlet
by Susilo
Summary: For every problem, there is a solution. Yet, not all solutions are arrived at by the use of ethical means. Such is the case for Remilia Scarlet. Nevertheless, no matter what tactics she is forced to use, she will not be denied what belongs to her.
1. Prologue: Identifying the Problem

Don't you hate it when an author on your alters list posts a fic from a universe you don't follow, tells you the story from the universe you _do_ follow will be updated soon, but then ends up posting an entirely new fic instead? Yea… Mah bad.

At any rate, even if you've read my other works, this should be a new experience for you. I'm going about this from a completely different angle this time, so it should be fun.

* * *

**Prologue: Identifying the Problem**

Remilia Scarlet groaned angrily as she rolled over in her bed and tugged her heavy quilt over her head. Her groans increased in volume as the quilt caught on one of her wings, forcing her to roll around awkwardly as she maneuvered the quilt up her body. She hated waking up early. The sun was still out and enough light penetrated her curtains to irritate her sensitive eyes. Even from underneath the safety of her favorite quilt, she could almost feel the sunlight that invaded her room.

"Hurry up and set, already," the blue haired vampire grumbled in discontent. She couldn't very well start her night with the day still going strong, could she?

Why did her room have to have a window facing west? She should have known better, honestly. Well, it was better than having a window facing east, Remilia supposed. It was better to wake up irritated than have trouble getting to sleep... probably. Though, why was she justifying her terrible window placement when a window facing north or south would solve her problem entirely? Perhaps it was possible to find a way to shift her mansion ninety degrees over.

"Need thicker curtains…" Remilia mumbled from underneath the needlessly hot quilt after having giving up on the idea of repositioning her entire mansion. It would have required too much effort. Right now, it was too hot to think about things that required effort.

Come to think of it…

Never mind the window, why was it so hot today? It was unbearable, and the heavy quilt only made it worse! What was wrong with today? She could either stay like she was and broil to death or get up and be blinded by the sun. Some choices…

Remilia hated heat just as much as she hated sunlight, though heat _was_ a tad less of a concern than sunlight to the vampire.

Technically, they were still _enjoying_ the last few weeks of winter in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. In reality, however, it felt as if all of Gensokyo was well into the summer season.

Remilia frowned beneath her quilt. Yesterday, it had been snowing. Today, she felt as if she were to burst into flames at any given moment.

Against her better judgment, Remilia stole a quick glance out from underneath her safe, albeit uncomfortable, haven, but groaned again as she all too clearly made out the glowing image of the now setting sun through her curtains. Not only did it feel like summer, but the day was surely longer than it had been yesterday. Perhaps she hadn't woken up earlier than usual after all.

It was probably some youkai's doing, Remilia mused. Though, if that truly were the case…

"Reimu should work faster," the noble vampire grumbled before tossing the quilt from her and rolling out of her bed.

Regardless of the sun still being out, it was setting at least. Her sensitive eyes could bear the last rays of the sun and the twilight that followed, although a few more hours of sleep did sound tempting. However, despite the sun just now setting, her inner clock confirmed her suspicions by telling her that the actual time was closing in on the midnight hour, and that she should hurry and start her night lest she give Sakuya reason to check on her.

A gentle knock on her door let Remilia know that she had been just too late in making her decision.

"Lady Remilia," Sakuya called out from the hallway, "are you awake?"

"As if on cue," Remilia sighed softly to herself. Sometimes, her maid's unquestioning dedication to her felt a bit smothering. She was over five hundred years old, damn it. She wasn't a child. "Yes, Sakuya, I'm up." The vampire frowned in disgust as she felt a bead of sweat trail down her back and onto her wings. She hated how something as fleeting as temperature could make a noble like her feel so dirty. "Run a bath for me, if you will. I'll be out in a moment."

"As you wish, my lady," Sakuya answered, and Remilia could just picture her maid bowing slightly to the closed door. Sakuya was the type of human to perform her job perfectly to the point of it being unnecessary. Although, Remilia admitted that it was Sakuya's reliability in doing things properly that made her so irreplaceable to the vampire. She would trust no one else with her daily needs than the master of the lunar dial.

The knowledge of Sakuya's very reliability told Remilia that she shouldn't dally in her bedroom for much longer. Knowing Sakuya, she probably had already begun drawing her bath just as the sun first started to set.

Her over-dedication came in handy most of the time, Remilia relented.

⑨

"Big sister! Big sister!" Flandre exclaimed excitedly as she entered the dining room and ran towards Remilia, who had previously been seated peacefully enjoying the silence in the artificially lit room.

Remilia loved artificial lighting. It came with all the perks of the day without any of the irritation.

"Flandre," Remilia spoke to her sister in a gentle, yet admonishing tone, "that's not how we enter a room, is it?"

The younger vampire looked down at her seated sister with teary eyes. "I'm sorry, big sister." Flandre was nearly crying. "Please don't hate me."

"It's all right, sister," Remilia smiled. "Just say it right."

Flandre's smile returned full force the instant she realized she hadn't displeased her sister. "Okay," she cheered before turning and bounding out of the room, leaving Remilia to raise a quizzical eyebrow.

Mere moments after the door closed behind Flandre, it burst open again as the same girl attempted to calmly reenter the room. Attempted was an accurate way to describe the situation, since the younger vampire spent the majority of the trek trying, and failing to keep herself from giggling profusely. Finally, after many giggles that threatened to cause the blonde haired vampire to trip, Flandre once again reached her sister's side and grinned widely down at her.

"Good evening," Flandre spoke between giggles, "sister Remilia." Then, though smiles and laughter, the younger vampire sibling did her best curtsy before looking back at her beloved elder sister expectantly.

Too cute, Remilia couldn't help but think.

"Good girl," Remilia patted her little sister's head lovingly, earning the elder girl happy giggles from her younger sister as she bounced up and down uncontrollably.

It was a shame that her sister's cuteness was overshadowed by the wanton destruction she caused whenever she got the sudden urge to "play."

"Why don't you have a seat, little sister," Remilia motioned at an empty seat across the table. "Sakuya should be just about finished preparing our twilight meal."

"Okay!" Flandre cheered as she pumped a fist into the air. Disregarding her sister's suggestion to sit down at the other end of the table, Flandre opted to drag the chair from its position and instead placed it directly beside Remilia. When she noticed her elder sister's questioning glance, she merely flashed a toothy grin before plopping down in her seat and swinging her dangling legs back and forth happily.

Remilia merely rolled her eyes as she distracted her sister by giving her another pat on the head. She couldn't believe only a little more than five years separated the two of them in age, though… she probably had a lot to do with her sister's lack of maturity and low mental age with the way she'd treated her in the past. Well, at least she was doing her best to be a better sister, now.

"Ne… ne," Flandre tugged on the blue haired vampire's sleeve. "Is it ready yet, big sister?"

"Be patient, Flan," Remilia frowned. "I'm sure Sakuya is just about finished."

"Can I go check?" The younger sibling asked as she jumped out of the chair in excitement.

"No, Flan," Remilia desperately gripped her sister's arm. "If we bother Sakuya, the meal will only take longer to prepare."

"But… but… I'm hungry!"

"I know, sister," Remilia sighed as she rubbed her sister's back, causing the smaller girl to emit a pleased giggle before falling back into her seat. It looked like that was enough to keep Flandre in line for now… Sakuya better hurry up with that meal, though. For someone who could stop time to get any job done, she sure took her sweet time when it came to cooking.

"Dinner is served, my lady," Sakuya announced, wheeling a cart in from the kitchen.

Thank god, Remilia thought.

"Ah," Sakuya smiled gently when she noticed her younger mistress's presence. "I see you're already awake, Mistress Flandre."

"Yep!" Flandre grinned. "I don't need help waking up anymore. I'm a big girl, now."

"Not quite yet, Flan," Remilia patted her sister on the head once again, "but you're getting there."

Flandre crossed her arms over her chest and let out a loud "humph" at her sister's words, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face that spread wider with each pat to her head.

"Tonight," Sakuya announced proudly as she began to set the various dished onto the table, "the kitchen staff and I have prepared a medium rare pork cutlet with a side of tomato soup." Sakuya always made it a point to give all of the other maids in the household partial credit for the things she did, even if she did not allow them to help… at all.

"Can I have mine extra rare?" Flandre asked excitedly.

"I apologize, Mistress Flandre," Sakuya gave a sincere bow. "I'm afraid you cannot. The meal has already been prepared."

"BUT I WANT IT RARE!" Flandre screamed as she slammed her fist down onto the table, causing Sakuya to flinch and take a half step back from the girl.

Seeing her head maid's reaction, Remilia instantly shifted to damage control. "I-It's okay sister," the blue haired vampire stuttered slightly as she placed a gentle hand onto Flandre's shoulder. "Sakuya can just prepare tomorrow morning's meal with a lot of rare meat for you, okay?"

"Oh… Okay!" Flandre grinned completely content, with all traces of her previous psychotic anger instantly vanishing from her face.

Sakuya let out a sigh of relief and made a mental note to prepare Flandre's favorite meal for the next morning.

"I'll certainly do just that," Sakuya bowed before turning to her true Mistress. "I apologize for taking so long, Lady Remilia. I took the liberty to prepare more than usual for tonight's meal. I felt it might have been possible that you would want to dine with Lady Patchouli tonight. If you wish, I can go and fetch her now."

"Hmm," Remilia brought her hand to her chin curiously. "I suppose you should. She needs to get out of that library from time to time. Besides, it would be nice if we ate together from time to time. Of course, Koakuma and yourself are more than welcome to dine with us, as well."

"It would be an honor, Mistress."

⑨

Later, after a mostly uneventful meal (Flandre managed to keep herself entertained while the rest of the dinner group exchanged casual conversation by playing with the little black wings spurting from Koakuma's head, much to the lesser devil's chagrin) Remilia retreated to the library with Patchouli in tow.

"You know, Patchy," Remilia called out behind her as she glanced over the bookshelves, "it always amazes me how noticeably fewer books there are every time I come in here."

"Don't remind me," Patchouli grumbled to herself, her knuckles whitening as she gripped her book tighter. "Even with you as its master, this mansion has a serious problem with thieves. If it's not the black-white, it's that doll girl. You should really think about getting some better security for this mansion. That Hong Meiling is worthless."

"She's not entirely worthless, but I agree that she's not much for security against those two."

"Why do you even employ such a weak guard, anyway? With your pride, I'm surprised you don't settle for anything less than Sakuya's usefulness when it comes to the mansion staff."

"Even without my pride, there are no useless employees in the Scarlet Devil Mansion." Remilia countered, but decided to explain further when met with her friend's disbelieving stare. "Call it strategy. If the first opponent an intruder faces is so weak, then they're likely to be lured into a false sense of security. It's always entertaining to see their faces when they finally realize just what exactly they've gotten themselves into."

"You're way of thinking is a bit backwards," Patchouli sighed. "Reimu surely didn't provide much enjoyment for you in that sense at least. Besides, something like that would only incite that black-white. It's no wonder why she keeps stealing from my library."

"Perhaps, but Flandre enjoys it whenever that girl comes around, so I'll ask you to put up with a few missing books here and there for now."

"A few," Patchouli scoffed. "Fine, just tell Sakuya to keep an eye out for her. Meiling might be worthless at keeping her out, but Sakuya might be able to direct the black-white to Flandre rather than my library."

"I'll do that, Patchy," Remilia laughed. "Oh right," the vampire snapped her fingers suddenly. "Do you know anything about what's going on outside? I might have just woken up early today, true, but I'm almost certain the sun was out a lot longer than it should have been."

"I wouldn't know," Patchouli turned a page of the book she was currently absorbed in. "Other than dinner, I'm been in here all day."

"You and your books," Remilia mock sighed. Even if she didn't get any answers from Patchouli, she might as well tease her a bit before leaving. "You should really get out more, Patchy. It's not good for your health if you're cooped up in here all the time."

"We've had this conversation before," the bookworm dismissed. "I'm in here all the time because I'm anemic. I can't be too active. It's bad for my condition."

"Maybe you're anemic _because_ you don't get much exercise?" The vampire countered.

"I get plenty of exercise, thank you."

"Oh?" Check. "What kind?"

Patchouli raised her book in an attempt to hide her face, but Remilia's eyes were too quick.

"Oh ho!" Remilia raised a hand to her mouth playfully having noticed her friend's blush. Checkmate. "Methinks the Librarian's Assistant has been giving the Librarian a _special_ assistance with her exercises."

"Get out!" Patchouli yelled, pointing furiously at the door with one hand as the other held her book over her face as a shield.

"Shall I send for Koakuma?" Remilia teased. "I do worry about your anemia, after all. I'd feel better if there was someone here to… attend to your needs."

"Go!" Patchouli screamed again, this time throwing the book she had been holding at the vampire girl.

"Going," Remilia laughed, easily dodging the book as she made her way out of the library.

Now that she'd had a bit of fun, it was time to seriously inquire about the odd daylight.

⑨

Remilia's right eye twitched as she glared down at her gate guard, her **sleeping** gate guard.

"All will… tremble… at… mighty Meiling," the green clad gate guard mumbled in her sleep, completely oblivious to her employer's presence.

Why _did_ she employ this girl, again? Oh right. Strategy. That, plus she got what was coming to her for sleeping on the job whenever she actually had to guard the gate she was currently leaning against. Remilia was surprised Meiling's face hadn't permanently adopted a black and blue hue by now. She certainly seemed to sport a new bruise every other day, though Remilia wondered if some of those were Sakuya's doing.

"nnn… Sakuya," Meiling continued to mumble. "I'll find… where you hide… your secret… breast pads."

Remilia smirked. At least the helpless guard was providing her with at least some form of amusement. Still, she came here for answers, not amusement. She wouldn't be getting anything from interrogating a sleeping youkai.

"Awaken," Remilia hissed, "Hong Meiling."

"Gah!" Meiling cried as she leaped away from the intruding voice and landing in an intimidating fist-fighting stance… before momentum kicked in and she fell backwards onto her rear. "Owie," red haired guard grimaced as she rubbed her side. However, the memory of the sudden, intruding voice returned to her mind, and she leapt back to her feet, this time successfully moving her body into her trademark fighting stance.

"You've got some guts trying to break through this gate while I'm he-" Just then, Meiling noticed the intruder's blue hair, red dress, wings… Oh crap. "L-Lady Remilia," the gate guard stuttered, nearly stumbling backwards onto the ground in shock. "Y-You grace me with your presence."

"Indeed," Remilia nodded haughtily. It seemed as if she might be able to have a little fun with this girl. "I apologize for interrupting you while you were in the midst of performing your duties so… admirably." Remilia smirked when she noticed the red haired youkai begin to sweat nervously. "However, given that you're stationed outside every day, I thought you might be able to assist me in answering a few questions."

"Of course!" Meiling gave her mistress an excited salute. "I am at your service."

"Good. Now, what can you tell me about the day? Am I wrong in assuming that it was unnaturally lengthened?"

"Eh? The day?" Meiling scratched the side of her head as her gaze drifted up to the glowing moon in the night sky. "Oh hey, it's night already? I wonder when the sun set."

Remilia had to grip one of the gate's thick metal bars to keep herself from falling over. This girl was helpless.

"I see," the blue haired vampire tried not to growl. "I shall take my leave of you, then. Please, keep up the… _good_… work, Meiling. I might return later to inquire more from you."

"Ah…" The door guard glanced to the side nervously. "I see. I'll be… awaiting your arrival, then."

"Good," Remilia smirked as she turned to head back to her mansion. At least she had left Meiling too scared to even think of going back to sleep for the remainder of what the vampire hoped would be a very long night. Now, she set off to continue her investigation with inquiring from her most valuable servant.

She should have just done this from the start.

⑨

"Yes, I heard about it while I was shopping in town," Sakuya explained while chopping a fresh head of cabbage for their next meal. "There were rumors that a youkai was causing problems and that the shrine maiden had been tracking her down. Some of the rumors mentioned the youkai threatening to never allow the sun to set again, so if that were the case, I assume that Lady Reimu managed to catch her shortly before I came to wake you late this evening."

"I see," Remilia smiled slightly at the mention of Reimu. "She sure took her time with catching the culprit. Though, I suppose it's fortunate that I woke up to a setting sun rather than a blazing one. I might have to pay her a visit tonight and thank her for that, at least."

"Miss Sakuya!" Flandre exclaimed cheerfully as she ran through the kitchen towards the duo bouncing up and down as she went. "I did it! I did it!" She chanted before nearly tackling the head maid to the ground in a fierce hug, which Reimu was sure would leave a bruise on Sakuya's waist. Oblivious to any sort of discomfort she could unknowingly cause, the younger vampire grinned up at the maid, who was doing her best to maintain a soft smile. "I mixed in the flour just like you said!"

Remilia simply couldn't hide her smirk. Mixed the flour? Flandre certainly had… and managed to cover herself in the white powder from head to toe in the process.

"Mistress Flandre wanted to help," Sakuya explained apologetically, noticing Remilia's smirk.

"Big sister!" Flandre yelled when she finally realized the she and the maid were not alone. She then dethatched herself from the maid hurriedly and twirled around to face her sister. "Ah… I mean," the blonde haired vampire did a cute curtsy for her elder sister, causing some loose flour to fall off her previously red dress cosmetically. "Good evening, Sister Remilia."

Remilia's eyes sparkled with mirth. "Good evening, Flandre. Are you helping Sakuya with the cooking, tonight?"

"Yep!" Flandre saluted, something she no doubtably had picked up from Meiling. "We're going to make a tasty breakfast! Just you wait!"

"Good girl," Remilia smiled warmly, patting her sister on the head a few times, though her smile waned slightly as some of the flour stuck to her hand. "I'll be extra sure to make it back in time for breakfast, then."

"You're going out?" Flandre questioned with wide eyed curiosity. "Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to visit the Hakurei Shrine for a bi-"

"Can I come?!?" Flandre interrupted quickly. "Marisa talks about that place a lot. I want to go! Can I?"

"I'm not going to play," Remilia explained, choosing to ignore Sakuya's smirk, "and Marisa is probably not at the Shrine. She's probably at her own home asleep."

"Asleep?" Flandre cocked her head to the side, more flour falling from her hair. "But it's nighttime."

"I know, sister," Remilia explained. "But she's a human, and humans sleep during the night and are awake during the day."

Flandre's face contorted into a mixture of confusion and disgust. "That's weird."

"Yes it is," Remilia nearly laughed.

"But I want to go, still. Marisa comes her during the night sometimes, so she might be there this time."

Remilia sighed. Flandre really had taken a liking to that Marisa girl. Remilia just wished her little sister had chosen to obsess herself with a better role model. At least she wasn't fawning over Reimu.

"Weren't you going to help Sakuya make a tasty breakfast?" Remilia argued softly.

"Yep!"

"Then how can you do that if you leave the mansion?"

Flandre's mouth quickly opened to retort, but the girl froze suddenly as Remilia's point soaked in. "But… but-"

"How about this," the elder sister proposed, "you stay here and help with breakfast, and I'll go to the Shrine. If Marisa is there, I'll ask her to come join us for breakfast."

Flandre's expression instantly shifted from disappointment to excitement. "Okay!" She pumped her fist into the air and then twirled back around to face the maid. "We have to make breakfast extra tasty, Sakuya!"

"Yes, Mistress Flandre," Sakuya smiled down at the girl. "Why don't you go get the milk for me and we'll start mixing the batter?"

"Roger!" Flandre gave another playful salute before bounding down toward the other end of the large kitchen. When the girl was out of earshot, however, Sakuya turned back to her mistress, her expression turning deadly serious.

"Do make sure to return in time for breakfast, Lady Remilia," Sakuya pleaded earnestly. "Mistress Flandre has been looking forward to it ever since you promised her raw meat earlier tonight."

"I know, I know," the blue haired vampire waved dismissively. "Like I said, I'm just going to thank her for returning the night, even if it was a little late. It would have been troublesome if the day had last forever, after all."

"Lady Remilia," the head maid sighed, "you _do_ know that you don't have to make up an excuse to visit Reimu every time you go, don't you? If you just want to go chat with her over a cup of tea, that's perfectly fine."

"I have no idea what you're talking about it, Sakuya."

"Mistress, I understand how you feel about the shrine mai-"

"Even if you are the head maid," Remilia interrupted, growling dangerously, "it's not your place to understand anything about **my** personal life, Sakuya."

"Yes, Mistress." Sakuya quickly remedied, bowing apologetically. "I am truly sorry for overstepping my bounds as your maid."

"Good," Remilia huffed. "I'm leaving. Keep an eye on Flandre while I'm gone."

With that, the noble vampire turned and stormed out of the kitchen.

⑨

Yes, Sakuya was far too dedicated to her for her own good, Remilia thought as she flew through the starry, night sky towards the Hakurei Shrine. It was no wonder that she had been able to pick up on her ulterior motives for wanting to visit the shrine maiden. The blue haired vampire was certain that Sakuya was well aware that her trips to the shrine weren't just for tea.

In truth, Remilia cared about the shrine maiden… more than she probably should. She was fascinated by her, though that made Reimu sound like some sort of subject of observation. Intrigued? That didn't sound strong enough. Like? Well, that was true… most of the time. Love? Hmm…

Remilia's feeling for the red-white were… complicated to say the least. Obviously she didn't even understand them, herself. The only thing she knew was that she wanted to see her… often.

It was odd… having such complicated feeling for a former adversary. On more than one occasion Remilia had faced the shrine maiden in battle, and it was to her that the noble vampire had suffered her first real defeat. Although, she _had_ managed to remedy that loss on the night of the full moon not to long ago, though she did not care much about the victory rather than the experience itself.

Each battle had given her an opportunity to observe Reimu in action first hand. Remilia had been mesmerized by her movements at first. She still was during their second encounter, but she could better look past it and concentrate on the battle at hand. Reimu moved with such grace and beauty as she flew through the air, more than Remilia thought any human could. Yet what was so mesmerizing was the fact that the shrine maiden was obviously not trying to be graceful. Reimu's eyes shined with concentration and dedication, but what was most awe inspiring was the compassion for youkai and other creatures that Remilia saw in the shrine maiden's eyes.

It was that compassion that saved Flandre, Remilia thought.

After Flandre had broken out and started causing havoc, Reimu and Marisa had not only subdued her, which Remilia had thought impossible until that point, but they had chosen to befriend her afterwards.

Flandre's anger had been more manageable since then. Even if the younger vampire lacked the mental age to appreciate such compassion, it was obvious that the gesture still struck her.

It struck Remilia, too.

To see her sister treated so kindly by people who had been fighting her just moments prior struck her deep… too deep. Even if the outside observer had to look closely to see it, it was obvious that Remilia hadn't been the same since.

It was Reimu's grace that had mesmerized her. It was her compassion that changed her. Yet there was still something else, something Remilia couldn't put her finger on, that constantly led her stray thoughts to the shrine maiden.

Whatever it was, it wasn't altogether unpleasant.

Remilia hovered above the Hakurei Shrine hesitantly. The lights were on. How odd… Usually Reimu would be fast asleep by now. The blue haired vampire would always have to shake the shrine maiden awake whenever she came over for tea. Reimu wouldn't be awake at this hour without reason. Perhaps she was giving whatever youkai that had caused the mischief earlier today a stern talking to, or perhaps she merely had company.

In either case, Remilia didn't feel like intruding on the shrine maiden's business quite yet. The night was young, and breakfast would most likely be delayed thanks for Flandre's help. She would have a few hours yet to idle around the Shrine before she had to return. Content to wait until Reimu's guest left, Remilia flew down to a nearby tree and rested upon an outstretched branch overlooking the shrine. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sit, nor something that the noble vampire was used to, but Remilia could easily see its hidden benefits. Whenever Reimu's guest finally left, she could easily sneak into the shrine without the maiden looking and surprise her. This could be fun.

While Remilia was pondering the fun she could have at the shrine maiden's expense, the door to the Hakurei Shrine suddenly slid open, allowing the light emitting from the shrine to spill forth into the night.

Oh? Remilia's eyebrows rose in surprise. It looks like she did not have to wait long after all. Surely luck was on her side tonight. The blue haired vampire watched with curious intent as two figures made their way out of the shrine.

"Thank you again for the help today, Yukari," Remilia heard Reimu say as the shrine maiden bowed politely.

"I'm just happy I could help, dear." Yukari's reply made Remilia frown slightly. She didn't much care for the tone in that youkai. It was far too friendly. "I always enjoy working closely with you like that, after all."

"Y-Yes, you've said as much many times," Reimu stuttered bashfully as she took a step back. "I'm just glad we were able to catch the youkai at a reasonable hour. I don't think the villagers would have appreciated eternal daylight."

"That girl has always been trouble," Yukari laughed, remembering the particular youkai they chased today. "I'm sure she's thankful that you weren't too rough on her when we finally caught her."

"Yes… well, thank you again for your help in that matter."

"You don't have to thank me, dear. You've already allowed me to sample some of your delicious tea."

"About that," Reimu bowed again, this time apologetically. "I'm sorry that I was in such short supply. I was planning to visit the market today and, well…"

"Think nothing of it, dear," Yukari smiled warmly… too warmly in Remilia's opinion. "I considerate a high privilege to be offered the last of your tea leaves."

Remilia frowned deeply. That was _her_ tea.

"Couple that with your angelic voice as we converse so intimately, and this shrine becomes nothing short of heaven."

Remilia's fingernails dug into the tree she was perched on in anger. That was _her_ casual conversation.

"Stop it," Reimu blushed. "Such descriptions don't fit month old tea leaves and my boring stories."

"Oh, but they do." Yukari took quick strides towards the smaller girl until she was standing directly in front of her. Shocked, Reimu tried to take a step back, but was held in place as the youkai griped her shoulders sternly. "Both your tea and your voice are lovely to me, Reimu."

"Y-Yukari."

Remilia was growling, now, but her displeasure went unnoticed by the two below.

"You're lovely, Reimu." Yukari bent down until she was looking at the shrine maiden directly in the eyes. "I love you." And then she kissed her…. deeply… romantically… lovingly. It made Remilia's stomach churn.

This… was a problem, Remilia thought angrily. The noble vampire stood tall with wings outstretched, fangs bared, and claws digging deep into the tree as she watched helplessly as the old youkai violated Reimu's scarlet lips.

Her feelings were crystal clear, now.

**That** was _hers_.


	2. Step One: Preparations

And the scheming begins.

* * *

**Step One: Preparations**

Remilia pursed her lips and glared down at her still full teacup as Flandre chomped down on her breakfast loudly next to her.

She was mad.

No, she wasn't mad at her sister, though any other day and she would have chided the immature vampire for not using proper table manners. She had been trying to teach her sister how to be a proper lady little by litter ever since their first encounter with the shrine maiden and the witch, but needless to say, it had been a losing battle for Remilia, though she persisted nonetheless. Surely the disgusting display Flandre was currently exhibiting called for an immediate reproach from her elder sister and, as Remilia hoped was the case, role model. However, the blue haired vampire was far too caught up in her own frustration to even take a bite of her meal, let alone discipline her sister.

She had a problem… a big one. That damn old hag, Yukari was trying to take something that belonged to _her_. That simply would not be tolerated. What was she going to do about it, though?

"Sister. Ne.. ne… Sister," Flandre pestered as she tugged on the noble vampire's sleeve. "Aren't you going to eat that, sister?"

"Hm?" Remilia blinked and looked down. Oh. She hadn't even touched her meal. "I suppose I'm just not hungry, Flan."

Flandre frowned up at her elder sister as tears began to well up in her eyes. "But… I… Sakuya… we made it tasty together."

That was right. What had she been thinking? Flandre had been helping Sakuya with the preparations for the meal whenever she had left the mansion earlier in the night. She had forgotten all about it after seeing… Ugh. Remembering it made her lose her appetite, if any had been left after seeing it firsthand. Remilia doubted she would be able to keep any solid foods down if she decided to eat now. Still… it would be dangerous to reject her sister's cooking outright. Hmm…

"You've been a good girl lately, haven't you Flandre?" Remilia asked, trying for a more roundabout solution.

"Yep!" Flandre bounced in her chair, grinning proudly at her sister. "I have! I have! Right, Sister?"

"Yes you have," Remilia patted her younger sibling's head warmly. "I think you deserve a special treat."

"Really?" Flandre gasped, eyes widening with unbridled joy.

"Really." Remilia nodded. "Would you like to share the rest of my plate with me? It is your favorite, after all."

Flandre inhaled deeply as sheer bliss overcame her. "Oh thank you, big sister!" Flandre nearly lunged out of her chair when she latched onto her sister in a tight hug. "I love you!"

"I… ugh," Remilia winced. Now she knew how Sakuya felt earlier that night. "I love you too, Flandre."

None too soon, Flandre detached herself from her sister and began to eye the offered plate hungrily. The fact that it was a rewarding gesture from her beloved sister made the food seem easily ten times more appetizing, and she wasted no time in digging in.

Remilia did her best to hide the look o disgust that was threatening to creep across her face as she watched her innocent minded little sister carnivorously ravage what was now her plate of food. There wouldn't be any left for her. It was just as well, though. She was _sure_ she had lost all her appetite, now… possibly for her next meal as well. Oh well, Remilia mentally shrugged while taking her first sip of the previously forgotten tea. Flandre was happy, and she was again left alone to brood.

Now… she knew exactly what the problem was. Obviously she and Yukari shared the same romantic interest in a particular Hakurei Shrine Maiden. The only difference was that Yukari seemed to have been well aware of her feelings for quite a while and had already made a move to steal her away from Remilia.

That kiss… Remilia nearly let an audible growl escape her lips as the incident ran through her head once again. Looking back, the blue haired vampire shouldn't have been surprised that Yukari had taken an interest in Reimu. The signs had been there from the start. The old youkai would always insist on teaming up with the shrine maiden whenever an incident would arise. Of course, Yukari had thrown out an excuse of working well together with someone with similar skills, but Remilia now saw the truth. She had been working towards this night from the start… working towards that damn kiss.

At least there was some silver lining to that kiss. Even though her precious Reimu's lips had been violated, Remilia noticed quite clearly that the shrine maiden did not return the youkai's kiss. Thus, it was possible that Reimu did not return Yukari's feelings. She simply did not break the kiss due to shock. Yes… It made perfect sense when looked at from that angle. Moving on that assumption, there was still time to steal her away before Yukari could trick the girl into returning her feelings. Yes, she had to move swiftly, yet cautiously, but how…

Remilia took another sip of her tea as she pondered that question. How was she to go about this? Certainly she was at a disadvantage in this game. Yukari had the benefit of moving in both day and night, whereas it was too troublesome for her to move in broad daylight. Yukari had the benefit of being Reimu's partner on several occasions, whereas she had been her foe. Ironically, it was as if Yukari had purposely built up a gap in the levels of trust Reimu was likely to have with the two of them. It was doubtful that the old youkai was aware of Remilia's feelings, but she wouldn't put it past her to tilt the situation in her advantage like this if she had been.

So, when it came down to it, Yukari had a kiss, a partnership, and probably trust. Remilia had tea… occasionally, and even that privilege was not exclusively her own. She needed a way to level the playing field. Hmm…

Perhaps fate manipulation? No, that wouldn't do. Using her power to achieve that sort of goal would only be a hollow victory. It might provide temporary bliss, but eventually the fact that Reimu's feelings were not originally her own would eat away at her until she could bear it no longer. No, the Reimu she cared for was the Reimu in control of her own destiny. The Reimu she wanted was the one she could not manipulate to obtain. Maybe… a lesser form of manipulation would work, though. Nothing supernatural, but something she could utilize all the same.

Regardless, she was getting ahead of herself. The biggest problem Remilia faced was Yukari's near monopoly of the shrine maiden. She needed a way to shift the focus to her. Apart from starting an incident herself, though, there was little Remilia could do directly. Whenever there wasn't an incident, Reimu slept during the night while Remilia was awake. She couldn't very well just waltz over to the shrine maiden and ask her to become nocturnal; neither could she suddenly decide to stay awake during the days. A vampire who chose to walk around in broad daylight would raise suspicion, even if she kept within the safety of her mansion's walls.

But… if she had an excuse…

That was an interesting thought. Certainly "if she had an excuse" opened up a whole new world of possibilities. If she had an excuse to be awake during the day, no one suspect that she was plotting anything devious and more opportunities to interact with the shrine maiden would be available. If she had an excuse for Reimu to visit the Scarlet Devil Mansion when there wasn't an incident involved, then they would be able to converse more personally. If she had an excuse for Reimu to visit on a daily basis… well… then the odds would then be in her favor, wouldn't they?

This was good, Remilia thought taking another sip of tea as a plan began formulating in her head. It was certainly a roundabout plan, but good. Very good… But there were many variables, almost too many. If she were patient and tread cautiously, though, Remilia had no doubt in her mind that she could work past them, maybe even work them to her advantage. Yes, yes this would work, and she would get what she deserved.

Reimu was hers already, Remilia chucked devilishly. The shrine maiden merely wasn't privy to that particular tidbit of knowledge quite yet. She would be soon, though. Very soon.

"What are you laughing about, sister?" Flandre interrupted her sister's thoughts, bringing her back to reality.

"Oh!" Remilia blinked quickly. How could she explain this… "I was just… uh…" Oh! That would work to her advantage nicely. "I was merely reminiscing about how we used to share a room when we were children."

"That was fun!" Flandre grinned nostalgically. "I used to sleep next to Sister Remilia every night."

"Yes, we did that often back then, didn't we," Remilia sighed, sincere nostalgia overtaking her as well. Things had been more natural between them as children. "I was thinking that it's been too long since we've spent time together like that. Would you mind too terribly if I slept with you in your room tonight?"

In the blink of an eye, Flandre leapt to her feet with enough force to topple her chair backwards. "Truly?"

"Truly," Remilia smiled. This killed two birds with one danmaku. "Perhaps we could talk the day away like we used to before we slept."

"Of course!" Flandre nearly screamed before grasping her sister's hand urgently. "Let's go now!" The younger vampire began pulling her up and out of her seat roughly. "This is going to be so much fun, sister."

"W-Wait, Flandre," Remilia called out, trying desperately to escape from her sister's iron grip. "I have some business to discuss with Sakuya before we retire for the night."

"Oh…" Flandre released her sister's hand dejectedly. "But-"

"It's alright, sister. I won't be long," Remilia spoke with ward reassurance. "Why don't you head down first and tidy up your room before I come down? Besides, you'll need to change clothes before bed, and I'll need to as well."

"Okay," Flandre grinned before running to the door. She stopped just before she reached it, though, and turned to face her sister once again but this time with a solemn, almost sad look on her face. "You'll… you'll really come, right sister?"

The tone in Flandre's voice was like a stab in the heart to Remilia. "I promise," she did her best to smile despite the welling feelings within her. "Now, go on. I won't be long."

Flandre's smile returned instantly upon hearing her sister's reassuring words. "Thank you, sister," she cheered before twirling around happily and rushing out the door.

Once Flandre had gone, Remilia frowned to herself before making her way towards the kitchen. It had been easier to lock Flandre up and forget about her in the past, but now that she was once again part of her life… she could not bear to see her sad face, even if it were for a fleeting moment. Perhaps she could amend her plan in a way. There should be a way to make Flandre a little happier as a result of her own happiness. Certainly what she had come up with thus far held the potential to serve Flandre as well. Tonight, she'd talk a little more with her to confirm a few things, though.

Regardless, she would need Sakuya to make the necessary preparations if she were to take any steps forward at all.

"Sakuya," Remilia called out as she opened the door to the mansion's kitchen, but stopped herself from taking a step inside. It was filthy, Remilia cringed. Flour was everywhere, and dozens of eggs had been splattered all over the walls. Just what kind of chaos did Flandre cause while trying to cook?

"Yes, my Lady Remilia?"

Remilia blinked. …And now the kitchen was spotless. Remilia couldn't help but grin as she freely entered the kitchen without any fear of dirtying her clothes. Sakuya had stopped time in order to clean the entire kitchen just so she could safely enter. That maid was too much.

"Your work is flawless, as always," Remilia chuckled.

"Thank you, my lady," Sakuya bowed. "Did you require anything of me?"

"Yes," Remilia crossed her arms over her chest, playing the part of the mistress as only she could. "There are several things I need you to take care of for me during the day."

"I am at your command, my lady."

"Good. Firstly, I'd like you to replace all the curtains in the mansion with thicker ones. Flandre and I will be spending a lot more time awake during the day from now on, so we'll need to be able to move freely throughout the entire mansion."

"I'll have the staff begin immediately. Are you planning anything that would result in the mansion being attacked? I can begin preparing the staff for its defense as well if you wish."

"That won't be necessary," Remilia waved dismissively. "My plans should not provoke that sort of reaction from Gensokyo."

"That is good to hear, my lady. I wouldn't want you to do anything that would harm your friendship with Lady Rei-"

"Secondly," Remilia interrupted quickly. Sakuya just wasn't about to let that go, regardless of how many times the vampire scolded her. "I'd like you to wake me up early tonight. I'll be sleeping with Flandre today, so you'll need to come down there to wake me. I trust you won't wake Flandre in the process."

"Of course, but might I ask why you wish to wake when it is still day."

"It is the third thing I ask of you that is the reason I'll be awake so early," Remilia explained. "There are a few guests I'd like you to invite to the mansion, and I'll need you to invite them personally to make _sure_ they come."

"Will I need to use force?" The maid asked, holding up a knife she had seemingly pulled out of nowhere.

"Hopefully not. I merely have business to discuss with them, though I authorize the use of force if they resist. My business with them cannot wait."

"As the head maid, I will personally guarantee their presence tonight, my lady," Sakuya bowed boastfully.

"I expect nothing less," Remilia smiled proudly. Sakuya would not fail her. "Now, here is who I would like you to bring."

⑨

"So, what makes a puny little vampire like you think you can just call out **the strongest fairy** on a whim like that?" The ice fairy, Cirno, asked while posing boastfully on top of the dining table.

Remilia eyes drooped sleepily while she fought the urge to yawn. Regardless of how much of a small fry Cirno was, it wouldn't do to insult her by not giving the fairy her full attention. Her lack of sleep wasn't helping in that matter, though.

Talking with Flandre in her room last night proved to be quite… time consuming to say the least. Remilia had confirmed what she set out to about her sister's feelings fairly swiftly, and she had hoped to convince Flandre to go to sleep shortly afterward. She had no such luck. The blond haired vampire wanted to talk about just so many needless things, it was a wonder she had gotten any sleep at all. Not that the amount of sleep she did get did her any good. It seemed as if mere moments after the noble vampire finally drifted off to sleep, Sakuya had snuck down to wake her just as she had instructed.

If only the rest of Gensokyo were nocturnal, she wouldn't have to wake up so early just to entertain a few guests.

Still, she couldn't afford to act tired. She had a reputation to uphold as the Mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. No matter how she felt, she had no choice but to play the part properly in front of guests. Thankfully, though, Sakuya had the foresight to provide her with a little help in doing just that.

Lifting the warm mug the head maid had placed in front of her to her lips, Remilia took a long sip of a pleasantly familiar concoction. It had been a long time since she had savored this particular brew, and she had so missed the sweet bitterness of coffee in the evenings. She would have to remember to order Sakuya to stock up on the mixture later. She would be losing a lot of sleep from now on if her plans were to be put in motion.

"Yes, I do apologize for being so rude as to summon you to my abode on such short notice," Remilia spoke, trying her best to sound sincere.

"You should be," Cirno said, crossing her arms and letting out a "humph" afterward. "You're just lucky Letty's not around right now. I might not have so much free time to waste on someone like you."

Letty? Wasn't that the youkai who only showed up during the winter? It was still technically winter, yet Cirno was speaking as if she were gone. Hmm…

"Oh? What happened? I thought you two were inseparable." Perhaps feigning a little curiosity would help warm the boastful ice fairy up a bit. Plus, Remilia was a teeny bit curious herself.

"We are!" Cirno stamped her foot on the table angrily, causing Remilia to frown. Sakuya had just polished it before the fairy had arrived. "It's that stupid youkai's fault, the one that messed with the sun. Reimu told me… told me… she told me a lot of things that were confusing, but I think the main point was that the youkai ended up forcing winter to end early on accident. Letty had to leave because of it. Stupid youkai."

"I'm sorry," the noble vampire feigned.

"It's not fair!" Cirno stamped her foot again, inadvertently causing a portion of the table to freeze over. "We still had so much time left. We were going to do a ton of things, still. There were still so many things I wanted to play with her. It's not fair. I hate spring! I hate summer! I hate… actually, autumn is okay but it sucks because Letty's not there to enjoy it with me! I hate it!"

"I agree," Remilia nodded before taking another sip of her coffee. Oh! Did Sakuya slip some cinnamon into this? It was good. "I'm not particularly fond of spring or summer either. They're far too hot for my taste. Even the nights are just dreadful."

"I know, right!" Cirno exclaimed, excited that her host shared her sentiment. "I wish it could just be cool all year round, ya know?"

"Indeed," Remilia smiled. It seemed asking a few trivial questions paid off nicely. "Which is exactly why I wanted to speak with you, specifically."

"Eh?"

"You see," the mistress of the mansion explained, "knowing that you are the strongest fairy, I have no doubt that you'd be able to accomplish just that. You could use your powers to drive away the heat outside until winter was upon us again."

"O-Of course," Cirno stuttered doubtfully, but tried to look confident.

It was obvious that such a task was well out of the range of the little ice fairy's powers, but a little flattery would not hurt Remilia's case.

"But," Remilia continued with a forced sigh, "not everyone would enjoy such a change. Though I cannot fathom why, there are many people and youkai alike that actually enjoy the warmer seasons."

"They're stupid, that's why," Cirno scoffed.

"That just may be," Remilia sipped her coffee again. There wasn't much left. She'd have to ask for another mug after this. "But there are enough of them to hinder such a plan. Even if you are the strongest fairy, you would lose in a battle of attrition. It is a shame, but we live in a world where quantity is greater than quality."

"Yea," Cirno frowned. "Plus, no one ever fights fair."

"Quite. So, having come to accept out natural limitations, I disregarded such pipe dreams in favor of a smaller, yet equally beneficial solution."

"Um…" Cirno was now looking at her with a look of utter confusion. She would probably have to use simpler terminology from now on.

"I would like to offer you a job here in my mansion," Remilia explained. "Your task would be to use your mastery of ice to keep the mansion cool. In order to do so, you would freeze a large portion of water and place it in a non-intrusive part of the room. Of course you would also have to make sure that the ice didn't melt. We wouldn't want to ruin my furnishings, would we?"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Cirno waved her hands urgently. "Let me get this straight." Remilia held her sigh. This was the deciding moment. "You want me to make a lot of ice inside of your mansion?"

"Yes."

"And in doing this, the inside of this mansion will be cool even in the summer?"

"That is the outcome I desire."

"And you want me to use my great power **just** for that purpose?"

"I was hoping..."

"You're… a genius!" Cirno grinned ecstatically. "Why didn't I think of this before? Ice makes things cold, even air. If that's the case, then ice could keep a place like this cool year round. Not only that, but depending on how much ice we use, we could make the rooms as cold as we want. That's perfect! …Wait," Cirno suddenly eyes Remilia skeptically. "Why would I do this for you? What's in it for me?"

"Of course I'm not about to ask you to perform such a task for free," Remilia smiled. This was working out well. Time to toss out a few scraps. "I'm willing to offer you a room here in my mansion if you accept. There are plenty of rooms not being used in the servants' hall you could have. Not only that, but you would more than welcome to eat with the other servants every day."

"You'd give me a room _and_ food?" Cirno asked with a raised eyebrow, to which Remilia replied with a nod. "You're… you're… I-I love you," Cirno said with tears of happiness filling her eyes.

Oh… Remilia hoped the little fairy wasn't being literal. The noble vampire was beginning to doubt that anyone other than Letty had ever been nice to the ice fairy. Still, it wasn't like she was being particularly nice to the fairy. She had just tricked the girl into becoming her servant, after all. She wondered if she even realized this.

"Oh!" Cirno clapped her hands excitedly as she flew up into the air. "This is going to be fun. Now, where should the ice go? Obviously I can't put too much or else there will be nothing but ice in each room. It's a shame, but I'll have to settle for mid-autumn temperature, I suppose. Hmm…" She began poking at the ceiling curiously. "There's not many of these types of buildings around here. This ceiling looks pretty sturdy, and I bet I could hang some ice from here. It would almost be out of sight entirely. Yea, this could work. Then, I'll-"

Remilia drowned out the fairy as she gulped down the last of her coffee. Despite not being altogether that powerful, Remilia was pleased with the amount of knowledge Cirno was showing about her element. For now, she would allow the fairy to drone on about her theories as much as she wanted. When it came to actually put theory to practice, Remilia planned to have Sakuya oversee matters to make sure Cirno didn't go too overboard. It would be troublesome if the fairy somehow found a way to stably create a winter atmosphere inside the mansion. She was looking for autumn more than winter. After all, she hated winter just as much as she hated summer, but Cirno didn't need to know that.

If things went well, however, the setting would be perfect.

For now, though, Remilia was merely anxious to see if Sakuya had prepared another mug of coffee for her. Her next guest should be arriving shortly.

⑨

"Sanae Kochiya," Remilia stood to her feet as Sakuya led her next guest into the room. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"A-Ah yea," the described living god uncharacteristically fumbled timidly. "I'm kinda lost, here. I've never been invited to a youkai's house before, so I don't really know what to do, or why I've even been called."

"Do not trouble yourself, Lady Sanae," Sakuya smiled at their guest. "My Lady Remilia isn't a youkai from Gensokyo like the ones you've encountered. She is a vampire."

"That's… not very reassuring," Sanae cringed.

"Don't worry about her," Cirno yelled out as she landed on the table forcibly. "I'm the one you should be concerned with. I am the strongest, after all."

"Sakuya," Remilia nearly growled, "could you show our new assistant, Cirno, around the mansion. I'm sure she has a lot of things to plan out."

"Of course, my lady."

"I've always wondered how big this mansion was on the inside," Cirno pondered aloud as she floated off the table and followed Sakuya's lead out of the room. "Hey, which one's my room?" Remilia heard the fairy ask as the door shut behind them.

"I apologize for my staff's rudeness," Remilia stated before returning to her seat and taking a sip of tea. Sakuya hadn't allowed her to get another mug of coffee, no matter how much she demanded. She kept saying something about too much coffee being bad for her health. She was such a spoil sport. "Please, make yourself at home."

"I'll stand, if it's all the same," Sanae crossed her arms and stated defiantly. "I'm still fairly new at this youkai hunting business, so forgive me if I don't allow myself to fall into a false sense of security."

"That is understandable. Although you were not present for it, I have been known to cause some mischief in the past, just like yourself, if I've heard correctly."

"A-Ah… yea," Sanae averted her eyes. "But that's all in the past, now. I'm one of the good guys."

"Oh, of that I have no doubt," Remilia chuckled. "Actually, I was counting on that being the case. Things would have been troublesome if you still held mischievous intent."

"Huh?"

"I have a few suggestions for you, if you don't mind listening," Remilia offered. Cirno's role in her plan would be minor in the long run, but from her on out, she needed to make sure her guests followed her instructions.

"Isn't it strange that a youk… vampire like yourself would give a shrine maiden suggestions?" Sanae countered inquisitively. Remilia would have to tread carefully.

"Oh, I'm sure it is just as you say," the noble vampire relented, "but rest assured, I, like you, am devoid of any… serious… mischievous intent."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Quite," Remilia took another sip of her tea. "I will admit to having some ulterior motives, but I give you my word as a descendant of Tepes that what I have in mind does not threaten Gensokyo in any way." Of course Remilia held no such ancestry. It merely helped throw her weight around as a vampire. "I will even offer you this: if you find out that I am lying, I give you permission to return here to hunt me. That _is_ the job you've adopted as a shine maiden, after all."

"Fine," Sanae glared. "I will hear your suggestions, but I warn you now that I will be quick to take you up on that offer if need be. I will not be so easy to manipulate."

We shall see, Remilia thought as she was forced to take another sip of her tea to hide her smirk.

"My plan is to give your rival shrine maiden, Reimu, a vacation of sorts."

"So you can move freely while she's not around?" Sanae asserted accusingly. This one had a bit of spunk to her whenever she fell into her niche.

"No, I assure you the sentiment is sincere," Remilia explained. "Reimu and I have become friends since I came to Gensokyo, and I worry that she is overburdened that all these incidents lately." Not to mention overburdened by the presence of that old hag. "I believe you were even responsible for destroying her shrine, if I've heard correctly."

"Ah ha…" Sanae laughed guiltily. "We… uh… yea."

"But just like me, you have found your place in Gensokyo, so I believe you can appreciate the great lengths Reimu goes to to keep peace prevalent here."

"Yea," Sanae nodded thoughtfully. "She's always the first one there whenever something goes down. I'm surprised her shrine doesn't get more donations than mine with all the work she does around here."

"Indeed," the noble vampire took another sip of tea. This was going well. "So you can see my point, then. Reimu works so diligently, only to be repaid with next to nothing. It is a shame, really. That's why I want to help her, if only a little."

"You said you wanted Reimu to have a vacation? I don't think she'd agree to that."

"No, she wouldn't," Remilia shook her head. "Not unless she wasn't aware that she was on a vacation of sorts."

"I don't see how you can hide the fact that you want to send her away."

"Not away," the blue haired vampire clarified. "She would spend her vacation at her own shrine."

"That's not much of a vacation."

"No, but the important part is that she'll have time to relax while you'll be making sure she won't be bothered by any pesky incidents."

"Come again?"

Remilia sighed. It felt as if she had just completed this dance only to have been traded to a new partner. What made things worse was that she would probably end up repeating the dance a third time in a few moments. "I would like you to patrol Gensokyo to see if you can prevent any incidents from occurring, as well as help any youkai that are in need."

"Aren't I supposed to be hunting youkai?"

"Oh? I was under the impression that the original reason for you moving your shrine here was to bolster the youkai's faith in you and your gods."

"That's… uh… that's true," Sanae admitted. "I guess helping out whoever I can come across _would_ be a great way to boost our public relations."

"Exactly," Remilia nodded. "In helping Reimu, you would be helping yourselves. You may be able to gather faith by helping settle any major incidents from now on, but I believe in the long run, the youkai would be more willing to believe in you if you proved yourself to be more reliable on a day to day basis."

"You… have a point."

"Are we in agreement, then?"

Sanae eyed the mistress of the mansion warily. "I still don't trust you."

Remilia couldn't hide her smirk. "You shouldn't."

"Fine… I'll do it."

Remilia took a final sip of her tea. Perfect.

⑨

Remilia paced the dining room impatiently as she waited for her final and most important guest to arrive.

"She's late," the blue haired vampire grumbled in frustration. Not only was her guest late, but it was getting late as well. The sun was setting, and she was beginning to think that she wasn't coming. That couldn't be the case, though. Sakuya had gone to retrieve her not too long ago. Perhaps she was merely over thinking things. Even if Sakuya had failed to bring her in, the chances of her showing up on her own were relatively high. She couldn't stay away, after all.

"Hey! Watch where you're pointing that thing, ze," a familiar voice cried out from the hallway. "You said I was invited, didn't ya?"

Remilia let out a long sigh of relief. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep or perhaps it was the coffee finally kicking in, but her stress level was far too high at the moment. Thankfully, the reason for her current stress had just passed.

"I did say that, Lady Marisa," Sakuya's voice followed. "But I explicitly said you were a guest of Lady Remilia. I believe I failed to mention that even guests are not allowed in Lady Patchouli's library, though."

"It's not like I was running away, ze. I was still gunna meet up with her. I just wanted to pick up a few books fir- HEY! Stop poking me with that thing, will ya."

Remilia chuckled to herself humorously. Certainly their back and forth had been worth the wait.

"Please refrain from diverting from the specified path, Lady Marisa. My mistress is waiting in the dining hall just through these doors."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm the one she's planning to be dining on, ze?"

Remilia hid her smirk and stood tall as she prepared for her final guest's arrival. She had no coffee or tea to distract her this time. This guest required her full attention.

Suddenly, the doors burst open, and in waltzed a broom toting witch clad in black and white.

"Good evening," Remilia bowed formally, "Marisa Kirisame. Please," she motioned to the table, "have a seat. Make yourself at home."

"I'll stand, tha-OUCH! Stop that," Marisa cried, swatting Sakuya's knife wielding hand away.

"Out of my three guests tonight," Remilia sighed, "you are the third to deny a seat at my table. To tell the truth, it is becoming tiresome. With you, at least, I must insist that you consider my offer. We have much to discuss."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take you up on that seat, ze," Marisa relented as she cautiously eyed the knife wielding maid beside her. "Literally." Setting her broom down within arms reach onto the table, Marisa took a seat on the opposite end of the room of Remilia.

Even after defeating her sister, Marisa was still cautious of Remilia. She liked that.

"I have a proposition for you, Marisa Kirisame," Remilia stated as she took her seat at the head of the table.

"What's that, ze? If you're looking for blood, you've got the wrong gir-OUCH!"

"That will be enough, Sakuya," Remilia ordered seriously. "Please begin preparations for our meal. Flandre will be up soon."

"As you wish, Mistress."

"So, little Flan's not cooped up in the basement anymore?" Marisa asked.

"No, that is still her room for the time being," Remilia explained with a sigh. "She is allowed to come out while she is awake, though."

"I see," Marisa frowned. It was obvious to Remilia that the witched cared about Flandre and was disturbed that she was still sleeping in the basement. Wonderful.

"In truth," Remilia continued, "we have prepared a proper room for my sister in the main hall. However, we are somewhat hesitant to move her out of the basement too soon."

"Why's that? Afraid she'll wreck something?"

"Actually, that is exactly what we believe will happen." Remilia locked eyes on Marisa and spoke with a deathly serious tone. "The fact of the matter is that we've been working closely with my sister ever since you and Reimu stopped her from going on a rampage shortly after your first... visit. I am being completely honest with you when I say that there's almost nothing in this world than I want more than to see my sister move out of that basement and take her place as a proper member of our household once again." In fact there was only one thing she wanted more, and she was working towards both goals right now.

"Why don't you just move her?" Marisa countered aggressively. "I mean, I destroy things all the time when I break into the-**visit **the library, ze. It always gets replaced."

"We appreciate that, by the way," the noble vampire rolled her eyes sarcastically. "But the fact is that the basement was designed to contain my sister. The rest of the house isn't as structurally sound. If she went out of control outside, we would lose our home."

"But you said it yourself, ze. She's allowed outside of the basement when she's awake, now. Your mansion seems pretty in tact to me. I'd think Flan's proven herself quite well, wouldn't you?"

"You do have a point," Remilia nodded, "which is why I've asked you here. I would like you to be the judge."

"Move her outta there! Let's do it now, ze!"

"Please take this seriously," Remilia pleaded earnestly. This may have been part of her plan, but it was honestly for her sister's sake as well. "I would like you to spend some time with Flan for the next few weeks. Even if it's during the day, she wouldn't complain about waking up early if it's you doing it."

"She _does_ tend to cling to me," Marisa scratched her cheek bashfully. "Honestly, I don't mind the idea. The little tyke deserves better than what she's got, not to say that you haven't been trying. Flan does talk about you a lot whenever I come around, ze. I know you're trying your best to be a better big sis."

"Thank you."

"But that's a big responsibility you're asking me to take on. Wouldn't it be better if you asked Reimu to help?"

"I would," Remilia sighed, "but she has her own duties to perform," she lied. Sanae should make sure she didn't. "Besides, Reimu isn't the one Flan has taken a liking to. You are."

"Yea, but wouldn't she just be on her best behavior because I'm here?"

Remilia laughed. "Can you honestly tell me that she's ever been on her best behavior when you're around?"

"Ah… no," Marisa smiled sheepishly. "She's always wantin to play danmaku with me. Sometimes we do a little, but we always end up breaking something."

"Thank you for that."

"Sorry."

"No," Remilia repeated honestly. "Thank you for that. Flan needs a friend who can keep up with her. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I wouldn't be able to even if I tried. I think more time with you would help her better learn to control her powers. You could help her. You could teach her."

"I… could… yea," Marisa scratched her cheek again. She wasn't expecting praise from Remilia Scarlet. "But…"

Just then, the door swung open, causing Remilia to smirk. Perfect timing.

"Big sister," Flandre yawned sleepily. "Are you in here? I woke up and you weren't the-" Flandre had to rub her eyes thinking that her lack of sleep was playing tricks on her. Fortunately for her, what she saw was real.

"Evening, Flan," Marisa gave a friendly wave, but her eyes soon shot open wide as the image of a vampire in red lunging at her invaded her vision.

"Marisa!" Flandre yelled out as she tackled the witch out of her chair. "Did you come to play?"

"I… uh…"

"I don't think there's enough time for you two to play at the moment," Remilia interrupted. "Our meal will be ready momentarily."

"Aww.." Flandre gave a cute pout before quickly cheering up. "Can Marisa stay for dinner, sister? Can she? Can she?"

"That's up to Marisa now, isn't it?" Remilia answered before turning to the witch in question. "Would you stay for dinner? Will you accept my proposal?"

Marisa looked between Flandre and Remilia before locking eyes with the elder sister. "Yea… I accept."

"Excellent," Remilia smiled triumphantly.

With that, all the pieces were in place. Now, she was free to begin her move to capture the queen.

The game was on.

* * *

While writing, I kept thinking of Remilia's face doing the "just as planned" look every few sentences. It took all of my willpower to keep her from saying that in this chapter.


	3. Step Two: Declaration of War

Found out today that Cirno is pronounced チルノ or Chiruno. Go figure. Always thought it was pronounced Sirno. Though, I suppose it should have been obvious given that it's a Japanese game.

* * *

**Step Two: Declaration of War**

Without even being asked, Sakuya had brought out an extra plate for Marisa while she served their evening meal. Remilia wondered idly if her head maid had already caught on to her plan and was giving it her approval in her own way. Certainly the fact that Marisa's meat was thoroughly cooked whereas Flandre's portion was still rare seemed to point towards that assumption being the case. With the witch dining on properly prepared foods and her sister enjoying herself quietly without outburst, any doubts about working with the vampire siblings that might be lingering in Marisa mind would surely begin to fade away.

"I have prepared milk tea for you tonight, Mistress," Sakuya said as she gently placed the cup of steaming liquid in front of her. Not expecting a reply, she turned to return to her place in the kitchen, but the blue haired vampire caught her arm to stop her.

"Thank you," Remilia locked eyes with her maid and said gratefully.

"I-It's my pleasure," Sakuya said a bit taken aback, but gave her mistress a small bow nonetheless. "Your happiness is my top priority."

"You must really like milk tea, ze," Marisa pointed out while chomping down on her meal with nearly as much enthusiasm as Flandre. It was… rather odd to see them eating side by side in the same manner, and it was even more odd to see her sister seated beside someone other than herself.

"It is my favorite," Remilia smiled pleasantly as she sipped her tea. Milk tea was symbolic.

"Really?" Marisa cocked her head to the side curiously. "I've had some before over at Reimu's place. It was okay, but I like green tea better."

"The first time I had it was when Reimu offered it to me during my first visit to the Hakurei Shrine," Remilia explained. "To tell the truth, I did not like it at first, but" she took another sip and savored the flavor before continuing, "now I have become quite fond of it. If possible, I would like to have it every day."

"Why don't you?" The white-black witch asked in confusion. "You run things around you, don't ya? If I were you, I'd have my favorite things served to me every day, on a silver platter no less. I'm sure you could do the same, if you really wanted it, ze."

"I agree," the vampire grinned. "As a matter of fact, I'm working towards obtaining just that as we speak." Remilia chuckled at her own inside joke before returning to her milk tea.

She was beginning to take a real liking to this Marisa girl. Despite her display of terrible table manners that rivaled Flandre's, the witch had really impressed her with her genuine concern for her littler sister.

Remilia had to admit. Tonight's meal was starting to become rather enjoyable.

That was… until Patchouli Knowledge made her grand entrance.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Patchouli yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the white-black clad witch.

Remilia frowned. She had obviously made a grave error. How could she have forgotten about Patchy's dislike of Marisa? Perhaps she could have prevented any possible altercation between the two if she had only told Patchy about Marisa's purpose for being in the mansion beforehand. Maybe she could still-

"Yo Patchy!" Marisa waved. "Got any new books in stock, today? I'm itchin for a good read, ze."

And of course she would…

"What are you doing here?" Patchouli repeated angrily.

"I'm eating," Marisa answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "This is good, Remilia. Did Sakuya make this?"

"_You_ are not allowed in my library!"

"I think it'd be rude of me to take my food out of the dining room, ze. I'll visit after I finish eating."

"You're not allowed to visit at all!" Patchouli yelled.

"Then how am I supposed to borrow your books?"

"It's not borrowing if you never return them!" Patchouli glared at Marisa before eventually throwing her arms up in the air in defeat and taking a seat at the table opposite her.

"Are you hungry, Patchy?" Remilia asked her friend, trying not to sound too amused. She had never really seen the two magic users interact with each other first hand like this. Of course Patchouli always recounted the witch's evil deeds to her, but seeing their banter up close was rather… humorous.

"No," Patchouli merely glared harder at Marisa, who had since returned to enjoying her own meal.

Out of nowhere, the door to the kitchen burst open once again, and out came Sakuya carrying a fresh plate of food. Without missing a beat, she strode directly toward the seated Patchouli and placed the plate gently in front of the bookworm.

It was Thai yellow curry, Patchouli's favorite.

"I don't trust you," Patchouli spoke loudly as she picked up a spoon and pointed it at the witch, trying to hide the fact that her stomach was now growling audibly. "I don't know why you're here, and I don't care. I think I'll just sit right here and keep an eye on you to make sure you don't go anywhere." With that, she too began enjoying her evening meal.

Remilia wondered just how far ahead her head maid had planned for times like these, or if she were merely using her lunar dial to keep the overly combustible situation in check. In either case, it was obvious now that Sakuya knew full well what was going on. But more importantly, it was obvious that she approved. Not that Remilia needed her maid's approval, mind you… It just helped.

"I thought you weren't hungry, ze?" Marisa laughed.

"Why _are_ you here?"

"And I thought you didn't care about that?"

"Why?"

"Marisa's here to play," Flandre cheered happily, a sliver of raw meat hanging from her protruding fang.

"Wipe your mouth, sister," Remilia chided. "You wouldn't want Marisa to think you weren't a big girl, would you?"

Remilia could feel Patchouli's gaze as the bookworm eyed her curiously. It seemed that she was beginning to realize that Marisa's presence hadn't been a chance encounter. Remilia averted her gaze guiltily when Patchouli's curious gaze transformed into a sudden glare.

"Library," Patchouli whispered softer than any human could hear naturally, yet still with as much anger as if she had yelled it. Flandre was too busy wiping her face and laughing as Marisa teased her to notice, but it wasn't directed at the younger sibling. It was specifically for the eldest.

Oh dear. She was going to get an earful after dinner.

⑨

Patchouli slammed the large, library doors shut with all the might her weak body could muster, which wasn't very hard, mind you. Still, Remilia could easily note the anger behind the action. Her best friend's anger was understandable, Remilia acknowledged. The bookworm had wandered into the dining hall only to find her library's arch nemesis enjoying a home cooked meal like it was an everyday occurrence.

Hopefully it would be an everyday occurrence, Remilia thought. It would certainly suit her plans better if that were the case, not to mention the witch's possible progress with Flandre. Nevertheless, she had made a grievous error in not at least informing Patchouli of her intentions, and she was undoubtedly going to have to do her best to make up for that now.

"_Why_ is she here, and _why_ are you _letting_ her be here?" Patchouli yelled out in frustration as she pointed furiously at her (possibly former, now) best friend.

Remilia much preferred it when that accusing finger had only been used on Marisa. Even if she were a good friend, the noble vampire never enjoyed being disrespected.

"She's here for Flandre's sake," the noble vampire stated simply, and… well, mostly truthfully.

"You're lying," the anemic bookworm countered furiously. "She comes here all the time whenever she pleases and ends up playing with Flandre a lot of the time _and_ manages to steal my books in the process. You've never condoned her presence, and you've even _told_ me that you thought she was a bad influence on Flandre. Now, all of a sudden, we're eating together like it's natural? I don't buy it."

"Your back and forth could hardly be called natural dining etiquette."

"You know what I mean," Patchouli huffed.

Remilia let out a long sigh. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to tease the bookworm when she was so mad, especially when she was within arms reach of so many heavy books. She wondered what would hurt more, a book or a danmaku bullet. Well… obviously that was a foolish question. Considering who was on the throwing end, obviously it couldn't be the book.

"I've decided to take a greater interest in my sister's happiness," Remilia explained. "For some reason, Flandre has decided that Marisa is her closest friend, whether Marisa has agreed to it openly or not. And if we overlook the random thievery-"

"I can't."

"And if we overlook the random thievery," she repeated, "Marisa isn't that bad of an influence for Flandre. I am beginning to suspect that I've misjudged a great many things about her."

"I can assure you, you haven't, and that still doesn't explain anything," Patchouli argued. "In fact that makes your argument worse. Even if you now condone her presence, you can't argue that the status quo wasn't adequate. She and Flandre still spent enough time playing together for it to be unnecessary for you to acknowledge her at all, let alone treat her to dinner."

Patchy was far too perceptive for her own good, Remilia grimaced. She probably picked it up from reading all those mystery novels.

"It's almost like you purposely invited her."

Oh, this wasn't going to go over well.

"I… _did_ invite her, actually."

"…"

"…"

"You _invited _her?!?" Patchouli exploded. "What were you thinking? You _know_ how hard it is to keep her out of here in the first place? It's going to be impossible to stop her from taking whatever books she feels like from now on! I just… I just can't believe you. Why? I just don't understand why this is necessary and why I have to suffer because of i-" The anemic girl's rant was cut short as she suddenly erupted in an uncontrollable coughing fit, causing her to lean heavily against her desk on one hand as the other covered her mouth.

Instantly, Remilia was at her friend's side, patting her back comfortingly. "It's all right. Just breathe." She had been far too careless in overlooking the feelings of her closest friend.

Eventually, Patchouli's coughs slowed until they vanished completely. Giving Remilia a quick, grateful glance, the anemic bookworm slowly stumbled her way around her desk and over to her favorite seat before collapsing down on it in exasperation. With a long, defeated sigh, she rested her head in her hands, refusing to look at her friend. "Why?"

"I'm sorry for not having the mind to tell you," Remilia gazed at her close friend with sincere, apology, though it went unnoticed as Patchouli continued to hide her head in her hands. "I've just been so caught up in my own ambitions lately; I forgot to let you know exactly what I was planning."

"We've never really had that kind of friendship, though," Patchouli finally looked up at the vampire. "We're close friends, but you've never felt the need to fill me in on your plans, and I've never felt like you should. I've always supported you however I can, but I am well aware that you have your own goals that I wouldn't normally condone if it were anyone else. In that sense, I can understand your oversight."

Remilia didn't bother to hide her smile. As far as friends were concerned, she was lucky she had found Patchouli.

"I know that you must have your reasons for all this, and I'm certain that a play date with Flandre isn't the only goal you have this time around." Bingo. "I just… don't like that your plans include Marisa this time. I know my opinion of her may be jaded a bit."

"Only a bit," Remilia teased. The atmosphere was starting to feel safe enough for her to speak more freely.

"Honestly," Patchouli sighed, "I get the feeling that Marisa and I could really get along-"

"You two certainly share in your love of books. You both read enough of them."

"-**_IF_** she didn't constantly disregard the sanctity of my library every chance she gets," the bookworm finished. "The fact that she _makes_ me detest her so much when I am half-sure that we could actually be friends drives me insane. I just can't stand it when she acts like she does, and she _always _acts like she does."

Remilia let out a light chuckle, garnering her another exasperated sigh from her book-loving friend.

"I guess what I'm saying," Patchouli looked up at the noble vampire pleadingly, "is that this time… just this one time, I need to know. As things are now, if I'm going to deal with Marisa on a more regular basis, I need to just what it is you're planning. So… just what is it that you're after?"

Remilia allowed a wide grin to spread across her face as she leaned forward over the desk, locking eyes with her friend. "Something I want more than anything in the world."

⑨

"You're a hopeless idiot, do you know that?"

Remilia laughed jovially as she flew across the night sky while recalling Patchouli's reaction to her confession. The bookworm had not been too impressed with her grand designs, claiming that she was being needlessly roundabout and that she should have simply confessed her feelings in the first place. She seemed to think everything could be resolved with three simple words.

Patchouli would have had a point, Remilia relented, if it hadn't been for Yukari being an uncontrolled variable in the equation. The bookworm simply refused to grasp the danger the old hag of a youkai represented to her desires. If she didn't act quickly, she could very well lose Reimu to her. If that happened, all would be lost. But at the same token, she had to act carefully.

To that, Patchouli argued that if she really wanted the quickest solution, a direct confession would be the best route.

Remilia had merely shrugged the suggestion off, saying that she was never one to do things directly, which frustrated the librarian to no end. It had been quite humorous, Remilia remembered, how her best friend's cheeks had puffed out in sheer frustration with her. It had been a nice change from her anger mere minutes before, not to mention a safer change. At least this kind of frustration had been light hearted enough not to aggravate her condition, to which, the blue haired vampire was grateful.

In the end, Remilia had been adamant about sticking to what she had originally planned. Though Patchouli continued to protest, deep down, Remilia knew she understood.

The shadows were where the noble vampire thrived, after all.

Still, she had promised Patchouli that she would at least visit the shrine maiden tonight as a compromise of sorts. Of course, she had already been planning on just that, but was more than happy to agree to the suggestion if it made her friend feel at least some semblance of triumph. Her last attempt at a visit had ended before she could speak with Reimu, and she still had to give her sincere thanks for her efforts recently.

Besides, it was necessary to keep herself fresh in the shrine maiden's thoughts, especially now that the cogs of her plan were in motion.

⑨

Remilia landed softly on the stone pathway just in front of the Hakurei Shrine. The lights were on again… That wasn't a good sign. Though, perhaps Reimu was merely up late. Surely Yukari wouldn't be over here again this soon after Reimu refused to return her kiss.

"May I have some more tea, dear," Yukari's most unwelcome voice was heard from within the shrine.

"O-Of course," Reimu's uncharacteristically shy voice came shortly after.

Then again, it was entirely possible that Yukari was the exact antithesis of herself. Whereas Remilia would use covert tactics, Yukari held no qualms about being direct. She was convinced that Yukari was far too lazy to be covert. Certainly, it was unsafe to leave Reimu alone with that old hag of a youkai.

"S-So," Reimu spoke softly as she poured her guest another cup of tea. "What brings you here this late, Yukari?"

"I think we should talk about what happened between us last night, wouldn't you agree?"

_Definitely_, it was _very_ unsafe to leave Yukari alone with her Reimu. Hastily, Remilia took long, swift strides towards the Shrine's sliding door.

"I… don't think there's anything to talk about," Reimu said solemnly.

Remilia's hand stopped just as it made contact with the door's handle. Perhaps staying hidden had some benefits after all. She was certain she recognized the emotion in the shrine maiden's voice.

"You and I both know that there is," Yukari stated sternly.

"Even if there was, I'd rather not talk about it."

"I don't want you to run away from this," Yukari pleaded. "I want you to be honest with me."

"I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"Do you hate me?"

"No…"

"Well, then do you like me?"

"It's not that simple!" Reimu yelled as Remilia distinctively made out the sounds of her abruptly standing to her feet. "I don't want to hurt your feelings. Out of all the youkai here, I consider you one of my closest friends."

Remilia frowned. She'd have to work on that.

"I just," Reimu let out a long sigh. "I appreciate your feelings for me. I really do. I'm flattered by it all. Honestly. I just… don't see you in that way right now."

"Right now?" Yukari perked up. "Is that to say you might return my feelings in the future?"

"I don't thi-"

"We could go on a da-"

"Good evening," Remilia interrupted suddenly as she swiftly slid the door open unnecessarily loudly. Well, to her it had been entirely necessary. She wasn't about to allow Yukari to fast talk Reimu into anything. "Yukari," she noted the youkai's presence with an uninterested, deadpan tone, though she forced her facial features to act surprised by her presence. Not dwelling on the youkai for too long, she quickly allowed her gaze to shift to her real target and smiled. "Reimu." The shrine maiden's face was face was flushed cutely and her eyes wide with surprise at the sudden interruption.

She was beautiful.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Remilia asked innocently, knowing full well that she was.

"As a matter of fact, yo-"

"Of course not," Reimu smiled in relief at the vampire's arrival. "We were just chatting. Can I offer you some tea? I just bought new leaves earlier today. I think the quality of this batch is much better than the last one I bought, so you should like it."

"That sounds lovely. Milk tea, if it's not too much trouble," Remilia smiled. In truth, she was beginning to feel rather full with all the beverages she had savored that night thus far. She would never dream of turning away something her dear Reimu offered her, though. "May I sit?" She motion towards the kotatsu, which Yukari was already seated at.

"Of course," Reimu turned to smile at the vampire briefly before returning to preparing tea. "You're always welcome to make yourself at home when you're here, Remilia."

Out of the corner of her eye, Remilia noticed a slight grimace forming on Yukari's face, and she tried not to grin at the reaction too obviously. "It simply wouldn't be proper for me to take such liberties without asking permission first. This is your home, after all."

Reimu returned to the table and placed a tray of fresh tea down with a smile. "You say that every time," she said with a chuckle.

In another time, Remilia recalled Reimu had teased her somewhat distrustingly about how she had failed to abide by such rules when she attempted to block out the sun with scarlet mist. Now, the incident was not even an afterthought between the two. They had come a long way as friends, and Remilia hoped that the two of them would be making great strides in another direction fairly soon.

As Remilia allowed her mind to wander over the hopeful possibilities of their future, she absentmindedly took a sip of her milk tea and let out a soft moan in approval. "This is delicious," the noble vampire smiled at Reimu warmly.

"You say _that_ every time," Reimu chuckled again.

"Well, it's true."

"Oh?" The shrine maiden questioned skeptically. "Are you sure you want to stick by that statement? I seem to recall quite clearly the face you made when I first served you milk tea."

"You saw that," Remilia scratched her cheek bashfully. "I didn't mean to be rude."

"I didn't think it was rude," Reimu smiled, eyes gleaming bright with mirth. "I thought it was sort of cute the way you tried to hide it."

"**SO**," Yukari interrupted, clearing her throat loudly. "What brings the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion to this humble shrine at this time of night?"

Oh ho. Yukari was feeing threatened. She should be, Remilia thought with a smirk.

"I could ask the same of you," Remilia mumbled, but quickly continued before either of the two could dwell on her words. "I thought a visit was well in order given it's been far too long since I've had the pleasure of your company, Reimu."

"You were just over here last week," Reimu cocked her head to the side, cutely. Remilia was beginning to think every little thing she noticed about the shrine maiden was cute these days, especially now that she had admitted her feelings to herself.

"Be that as it may," Remilia took another sip of her tea. Why didn't it taste this good when Sakuya made it? "I've found extra incentive to visit you tonight. Though your tea and conversation are more than enough for me to desire your company normally, your actions as of late have left me directly in your debt, as it were. I simply could not stay away for another moment."

"I see the news of the day travels fast," Yukari gloated, "even reaching the dwellers of the night."

"It's difficult not to take notice when the night that I cherish is threatened by what goes on in _your_ day," Remilia countered before quickly turning to give Reimu a warm smile. "So I thought it best to come and express my sincere gratitude to you personally. An eternal day would have made continuing these late night rendezvous unnecessarily difficult."

With that, Remilia took a deep breath and gathered up all of her courage. It was time to launch her first offensive.

"Never being able to see you again is something I simply couldn't bear," Remilia spoke with every ounce of gentle, caring warmth and sincerity she could muster as she locked eyes on her target and refused to look away. She forced her gaze deeper and deeper, holding it longer than any normal gaze called for until finally she was rewarded with exactly what she was looking for.

As if both were being coordinated by the same force, the two red clad girls averted their gaze simultaneously, deep crimson enveloping the two of their faces. Even though it had been a planned attack, gazing so deeply into the eyes of the one you cared so deeply for was still embarrassing.

Once again, out of the corner of her eye, Remilia could clearly make out the disapproving frown taking over the old youkai's face sitting next to her. Glancing over at the distracted shrine maiden brief, Remilia decided that now was the perfect time to make her stand.

Quickly forcing her own blush to subside, the noble vampire inconspicuously shifted her full attention to Yukari before flashing the youkai a boastful, triumphant, and intentional smirk as if to say "_I'm_ the one in control, here." Not bothering to note the youkai's wide eyed and furious expression, Remilia merely turned back towards a still oblivious Reimu and returned to her serious demeanor. She didn't much care for Yukari's reaction rather than the fact that her message had been received.

She had just declared war.

"I-In any case," Reimu stuttered as she forced herself to pull herself back together, "although I appreciate your thanks, it's not necessary to thank me for doing my job. If you want to thank someone, then please thank Yukari. She's not obligated to ever help out, but she never hesitates to volunteer. She's the one that deserves your thanks."

Remilia did not give it.

"It's truly a shame that most of these incidents occur during the day," Remilia faked a sigh. "I would be more than happy to assist you in whatever way I could. If it weren't for the daylight, I would be at your side at the very mention of trouble. I've always wanted an opportunity to work more closely with you, after all."

"I do hope that you aren't planning to do anything silly to achieve such a hope," Yukari stated plainly with dangerously narrowed eyes. "I would hate for you to return to your attempts to block out the sun just so you could be given such an opportunity to work with our _lovely_ Reimu. I daresay it would be quite redundant to offer your assistance to hunt your own self, don't you think?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that," Remilia brushed off, taking another sip of her tea. Perhaps Reimu used different leaves for her tea than she was used to. She didn't like thinking of the shrine maiden this way, but she _was_ fairly poor. It was possible that cheaper ingredients had the potential to come together to create something wonderful. Then again, perhaps she was merely biased based on _who_ was preparing the tea. "I've grown to appreciate Gensokyo just the way it is. Besides, I wouldn't dream of risking damaging the _relationship_ I've built with the…" She purposely glanced in Reimu's direction, "_friends_ I've come to cherish."

"I appreciate you being so considerate and thinking of _us_," Yukari stated.

Remilia had to hold her tongue from clarifying that she had only been referring to Reimu. It wouldn't do her any good to draw any more attention to her words than she wanted. Insinuating was enough… for now.

"So, Remilia," Reimu spoke up, "what have you been up to lately? I forgot to ask you about that the last time you were here?"

"I can't say I'm too terribly disappointed at you for not asking me that before," Remilia said. "Quite honestly, I wouldn't have had anything to talk about back then."

"As opposed to now?" Yukari questioned.

"Yes, actually," the noble vampire smiled. "I've actually taken steps to begin some slight improvements to my mansion in preparations for the new season."

"What kind of improvements?" The shrine maiden inquired curiously.

"Oh, I don't think I'm ready to reveal anything quite yet," Remilia smiled mysteriously. "Things are still much in the planning phases, but I am looking to begin things possibly as early as tomorrow if all goes well."

"You're making it sound so intriguing," Reimu grinned.

"Or suspicious…" The old youkai mumbled to herself.

"I think I'd like to see everything in person whenever you've finished," Reimu continued, not having heard Yukari's displeasure. "I've always thought it must be nice to live in such an extravagant mansion, and from what I've seen of it, I just can't imagine any way to make it better. You genuinely have me curious, now."

"I think _I'd_ like to see these improvements as well," Yukari added, only to be ignored.

"_You're_ always welcome to come visit my mansion, Reimu," the noble vampire hummed pleasantly. "Even if it's not simply to see the improvements I'm planning. In fact, I insist that you come for dinner, preferably one day soon. It would be my _pleasure_ to return the favor to you. You have been more than kind to offer me what little you have whenever I impose, after all"

"You're never imposing. In fact," Reimu let out a loud, tired yawn, "would anyone like some more tea?"

Remilia fought off a frown. She wished she had arrived earlier, but her talk with Patchouli had kept her. Nevertheless, Reimu was tired now, and she knew that it would be proper of her not to keep her for much longer. However, Yukari presence was still troubling, and it was very unlikely that the old youkai would be as willing to leave the shrine maiden so easily, especially after her declaration earlier. She had to get her away as well.

"I suppose that would be our queue to take our leave," Remilia took one final sip of tea before standing to her feet. Perhaps there was a way, after all.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me," Reimu apologized profusely. "Please don't think I'm driving you out. I'm happy to have you as long as you'd like. You don't have to leave."

"As much as I _love _your company, Reimu," Remilia smiled down at the sleepy girl, "I would feel as if I were the one being rude if I kept you awake any longer."

Reimu began to stand up in protest. "But-"

"No buts!" The blue haired vampire waged her finger playfully. "It's my fault for deciding to visit so late. It would be quite rude of anyone to ignore the needs of a host who has been nothing but courteous towards them." She extended her hand to the still seated youkai. "Wouldn't you agree, Yukari?"

Remilia watched with triumphant eyes as the old youkai bit her lip in frustration. She had backed Yukari into a corner with that display. Oh sure, she could opt to stay, but now that Remilia had brought Reimu's fatigue to light, she risked losing face if she chose to ignore it. Although Reimu wouldn't hold it against her in the long run, it certainly could end up hurting Yukari's earlier argument, which she no doubtably wished to continue. Remilia wasn't about to let that happen, at least not tonight.

"I suppose you're right, Remilia," Yukari lightly grumbled out the vampire's name as she begrudgingly stood to her feet. "It would surely be rude of us to impose any longer than we have. Besides," a sly grin beginning to form on her face, "tomorrow is another _day_."

Remilia would not be caught off guard. Yukari did have the day, but…

"Never rule out the excitement a beautiful night _will_ bring."

The night, just like the shadows, was where Remilia thrived.

"Am I… Am I missing something?" Reimu asked, obvious confusion strew across her face having noted the odd behavior between the two the entire night.

"Nothing at all, dear," Yukari smiled down at the shrine maiden, to which Remilia had to agree.

"No, nothing at all."

Nothing was gained from being honest with her quite yet.

⑨

Remilia hummed to herself as she neared the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Aside from a small setback with Patchouli, today had been quite productive. All of her pieces had fallen into place nicely, and Reimu's reactions to her subtle insinuations had been most promising. Even if she had not thought of women in a romantic light before, Yukari's confession had certainly heightened the priority of the prospect in the young shrine maiden's mind.

It was sort of odd. When thinking of it in that regard, Remilia owed Yukari at least some semblance of gratitude for that. Regardless of the fact that the blue haired vampire had been in denial about her own feelings just a few days prior, she had no doubt that she would have come to the same conclusion about what she felt for the shrine maiden eventually, but things might not have gone so smoothly if Yukari hadn't forced Reimu to start seeing women in that particular light.

Perhaps she would need to send the old youkai a thank you card after she achieved her goals, Remilia snickered as her mansion's front gate finally came

Yes, things were working out just fine.

"Ice Sign: Icicle Fall!" An angry voice bellowed out furiously into the night.

Remilia frowned as she watched a large group of small icicles far too numerous to count launch at their target. No matter how good things seemed, even the manipulator of fate wasn't immune to a few unforeseen kinks.

"Quit dodging and play fair!" Cirno screamed in frustration once she realized none of her attacks had landed.

"There's nothing unfair about dodging," Meiling smirked. Remilia swore it looked like her gate guard was having fun. "You might as well give up now. I won't let you into the mistress's mansion."

"Idiot," the ice fairy screamed. "I live here, now. I'm hungry, so let me in!"

Remilia sighed as she watched the event play out. She had made yet another oversight.

"Don't lie!" The gate guard countered. "I would have been informed if that were the case. Now, leave! Rainbow Sign: Rainbow Wind Chime!"

"Gah!" Cirno cried out in panic, which caused Remilia to smirk. The little fairy was flying around so frantically, trying her best to avoid Meiling's attack. It was a rather humorous sight. "Is… Is that all you got, cheater?" Cirno panted heavily. "You tried to cheat and use more danmaku than me, and I still didn't get hit."

"There's more because my spell card is stronger than yours," the red haired woman smirked.

"Nuh uh!" Cirno pouted. "I'm the **strongest**!"

"Is that so?"

"You better believe it!"

"Really?"

"Really."

"Bet you can't prove it."

"I can!"

"Then see if you can keep up."

"Just you watch!"

"Colorful Sign: Extreme C-"

"Snow Sign: Diamond Bliz-"

"What seems to be the problem, here?" Remilia interrupted their chanting, having landed a short distance away after effortlessly dodging the duo's attacks. Despite their attacks being relatively harmless to her, such a needless fight was happening far too close to her mansion for her to keep quiet. For Meiling's sake at least, it was better if she stopped them before they broke something, lest the gate guard feel the sharp end of Sakuya's knives… again.

"Mistress, this little fairy is trying to force her way into the mansion!"

"Miss Remilia, this big, stupid meanie won't let me into the mansion!"

Remilia couldn't hold back her light chuckle. Not from the two of them speaking in tandem, mind you. That was certainly annoying. What was humorous was that Cirno had called her _Miss_ Remilia. The little ice fairy would be calling her Mistress in no time.

"I think I see the problem," the noble vampire said with a shrug. "It seems Meiling, here, has forgotten that I informed her that you would be staying with us from now on, Cirno."

"See!"

"Ah… Y-You told me that?"

"Of course," Remilia nodded. In truth, she hadn't, but she wasn't about to admit fault. That would simply be absurd. "I remember telling you just as I was leaving earlier in the night. Don't you remember?"

"O-Of course!" Meiling lied obviously. "It… uh… must have just slipped my mind."

"It's quite alright," Remilia put on a fake smile. "I'm sure Cirno won't hold it against you. You were only doing your job, after all. Wouldn't you agree, Cirno?"

The ice fairy glanced between Remilia and Meiling briefly before crossing her arms over her chest in an angry pout. "If you say so," she huffed. "I'm hungry. Can I go in now?"

"Of course you can," Remilia nodded. "Go enjoy your meal."

Cirno grinned at Remilia before flying off towards the mansion. However, she stopped halfway to twirl around to face Meiling. "Bleh!" Cirno taunted as she stuck out her tongue rudely before laughing hysterically and hurrying back towards the mansion.

"Little brat," Meiling spat, glaring furiously at the ice fairy's back. "She's going to be such a pain to deal with."

"Oh?" Remilia smirked. "But you looked like you were having fun."

"Not enough small fry try to break into the mansion anymore," the gate guard gave an indifferent shrug. "It's nice to fight with someone I can beat now and then. Besides, the only people who come around here lately are Alice and Marisa. I've never actually seen how Alice manages to get in, but Miss Patchouli always complains to me about her. And Marisa…" She let out a long, exasperated sigh. "I just can't keep up with her."

Ah! There was another problem. Remilia supposed she should nip this one in the bud. Meiling deserved a break for now.

"Speaking of Marisa," Remilia interjected. "Until I tell you otherwise, she and Reimu are to be considered invited guests of mine and Flandre. You are not to try and halt them from entering the mansion in any way. Please greet them courteously and show them in with a smile."

Meiling leaned back against the wall as the new information sank in. "…Oh thank god."

⑨

"Would you like me to have Cirno make you an ice pack," Sakuya questioned as she examined their blonde haired guest's face. "It would help stop the swelling."

"I'll be fine, ze," Marisa waved off. "It's just a little bump. If it still bothers me in the morning, I can just go snag some pain killers from Eirin's place when they're not lookin."

This was an interesting scene Remilia found herself walking in on. Sakuya seemed to be nursing a rather large bruise just below Marisa's eye with a wet towel as the witch fidgeted uncomfortably. It was obvious the Marisa didn't like being treated so helplessly.

"Have you seen my hat?" The witch asked, hoping that Sakuya would prioritize finding the object over nursing her wound.

"It's on the floor, Lady Marisa" the head maid answered without looking away.

Remilia's eyes scanned the floor curiously until her gaze finally landed on the hat in question. It was… more like a bundle of scrap cloth than a hat, now. Regardless, the blue haired vampire picked up the object and held it to the light. "I suppose _this_ is your hat, or what's left of it," she called out suddenly.

Sakuya pulled the wet towel away from Marisa's eye in anticipation as the witch jumped in surprise.

"Gah! When'd you get here, ze?" Marisa gasped. Then her eyes landed on the fabric the vampire was holding. "Oh no… my hat!"

"What happened?" Remilia asked with a concerned frown. "Did Flandre's do this?"

"That was my favorite hat," Marisa sighed as she broke free of Sakuya's grasp and made her way over to retrieve her possession. "I wonder if I can get Alice to fix this somehow, ze."

"My Lady," Sakuya bowed. "It seems Lady Marisa and Mistress Flandre were playing together up until a few minutes ago. Obviously things did not end well."

"It was my fault, really," Marisa sighed as she folded what remained of her hat into a compact scrap. "I was having too much fun and stopped looking where I was going. Got hit right in the face, ze" she pointed at her bruise. "Flandre didn't do it on purpose. She kept control the whole time. Honest."

"Where is Flandre?" Remilia questioned.

"It seems she's hiding," Sakuya said. "It appeared that she was more frightened that Lady Marisa might hate her because of what happened to her hat rather than what happened to her face."

"My face isn't _that_ bad," Marisa rolled her eyes, ignoring the slight pain that came with the action. "My hat obviously got the shorter end of the stick, ze."

"I apologize for the unnecessary destruction of you hat," Remilia spoke apologetically. "If you wish, I can offer you enough money to replace it."

"Nah, I'm good," the witch waved of. "It's just a hat, and I'm pretty sure I can get it fixed… somehow. Anyway, I think this is an obvious sign that I've stuck around here long enough, ze. I guess I should be headed home. Do you mind if I come by tomorrow?"

"Of course," Remilia smiled. "I am glad you've decided not to hold this event against Flandre."

"Why would I?" Marisa said. "Flan stopped as soon as she hit me. If you ask me, the old Flan would have kept going. She already realizes the difference between playing to play and playing for real. Besides, I told you I've got faith in the little tyke. I'm not gunna let one little hit stop me from proving that she's got what it takes."

"I'm glad," the noble vampire gave a genuine smile. "You're welcome to come whenever you are able, …as long as you stay out o Patchouli's library, of course."

"I make no promises, ze" Marisa laughed as she headed towards the door. "Tell Flandre I'll see her tomorrow, okay?"

Remilia nodded, but did not call back to the witch. Instead, she allowed her smile to remain as she watched Marisa exit the mansion, though the reason for its presence was different from just moments before.

So, Marisa had already been hurt playing with Flandre, Remilia thought as her smile shifted to a devilish smirk.

It seemed her plan was moving ahead of schedule.

* * *

Step Three might be difficult to write. In my head, I'm already planning out Step Four, but I need to finish Step Three first.

Anyway, I don't really feel like this is a strong chapter on its own, so I've come up with a few…

**BLOOPERS:**

"I have prepared milk tea for you tonight, Mistress," Sakuya said as she gently placed the cup of steaming liquid in front of her. Not expecting a reply, she turned to return to her place in kitchen, but the blue haired vampire caught her arm to stop her.

"I'm not thirsty!" Remilia screamed as she used her free hand to knock the teacup off the table angrily. "Now clean that up!"

"Yes, Mistress."

⑨

"Do you hate me?"

"No…"

"Well, then do you like me?"

"Hell no!"

⑨

"Never being able to see you again is something I simply couldn't bear," Remilia spoke with every ounce of gentle, caring warmth and sincerity she could muster as she locked eyes on her target and refused to look away. She forced her gaze deeper and deeper, holding it longer than any normal gaze called for until finally she was rewarded with exactly what she was looking for.

"Quit staring at me! It's creepy."

⑨

"There's more because my spell card is stronger than yours," the red haired woman smirked.

"Nuh uh!" Cirno pouted. "I'm the **strongest**!"

"Is that so?"

"You better believe it!"

"Really?"

"Really."

"Bet you can't prove it."

"I can!"

"Then see if you can keep up."

"Just you watch!"

"…"

"…"

"Wanna make out?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

⑨

So, Marisa had already been hurt playing with Flandre, Remilia thought as her smile shifted to a devilish smirk.

It seemed her plan was moving ahead of sche… Come to think of it, what _was_ her plan, anyway?


	4. Step Three: Keeping it Together

Two stooges, a vampire, and an elegant maid are in a bathroom. Sound like a setup for a joke? It is.

I've come to the conclusion that Cirno makes even the most mundane tasks funny.

* * *

**Step Three: Keeping it Together**

Remilia grumbled audibly as she tossed and turned in her king sized bed. She was making full use of its size this day as she was determined to explore every square inch of the bed until she found the perfect comfortable spot to fall asleep on. Unfortunately for her, the sun had already risen to its highest point in the sky, and she was beginning to think that sleep would not be coming to her that day.

It was her own fault, Remilia had to admit.

She was excited… too excited to even think about sleep. Yet, she had tried. In spite of the adrenaline pumping through her veins, Remilia had foolishly sought out the elusive comforts of a good day's sleep. Regardless, even with the assistance of a pitch black room, the most comfortable western styled bed she could buy, and her secret full body pillow which existence was known to only her head made aside from herself, sleep did not come to her no matter how hard she tried.

At least she had her thoughts to keep her from the monotony of lying in her bed doing nothing for hours on end, which, in hindsight, probably wasn't helping her in her search for unconsciousness, but it made the lack thereof certainly more bearable.

Remilia's mind dreamed, though unfortunately not literally, of what was to come. It had been merely one day… one solitary day since she took her first steps in obtaining what she so desired, and already she was becoming anxious. Her mind was filled with the end result she was working so carefully towards. Barely a day since realizing her own feelings and they had already consumed her.

She wanted Reimu… needed Reimu, and she needed her soon. Remilia wanted the miko's warm smile to be the first thing she saw every evening and the last thing she saw every morning. She wanted Reimu to belong to her as she would belong to the shrine maiden, but that possibility still felt so painfully far away.

Remilia's will was breaking. She knew that. Yet, she had to stay focused. No matter how badly she wanted Reimu, she couldn't simply take her on a whim without a second thought. Oh, but she wanted to. She desperately wanted to. How nice it would be if Reimu were hers right now, if the shrine maiden were in her arms instead of the pillow she held tightly. Just thinking about it forced an uncharacteristic bush to creep onto the blue haired girl's cheeks as she buried her head into the softness of the pillow, wishing that the softness came from Reimu's hair instead.

This wasn't like her at all, Remilia mused. She was vexed… Reimu had vexed her beyond salvation. Her nobility, her pride, her wealth, all would be readily cast aside if but for a taste of a certain red-white clad shrine maiden's love. Such inclinations were unbefitting the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, she knew, but she would not… could not deny her true feelings now that she had come to acknowledge them.

It had been easier the previous day, Remilia remembered. These feelings had not attacked her that night, instead sleep came swiftly as her desire to forget the kiss Yukari forced upon her Reimu overcame her. But now that plan had been put in motion and her goal just that much close to being within reach, these feelings assaulted her relentlessly without any hint to an end. Now that she was set on achieving her goal, it was all that plagued her mind. During the night, her thoughts were of the plan, and her necessary duties to carry it out. Yet now, during the day when she had naught to do but sleep, her mind would not release her. She felt the pain of longing as she hugged her pillow close to her chest and impatience grew. Yet, she reminded herself not to allow her impatience to cause her judgment to falter.

The plan was set, and Act II of their play was to begin justly. All that remained was for the final actress to take her true place as the lead.

And yet, a question echoed through the noble vampire's mind as she fought off her own anxiousness. From now until her dreams became reality, would every day be as sleepless as this one? How long would it be until Reimu was at her side to fell her newfound torment?

Hopefully not long, indeed.

⑨

Remilia let out an angry groan as she rolled onto her back, finally letting go of her full body pillow. Several hours had passed, and still sleep eluded her. She was certain now that nothing would come of the daylight, at least nothing that involved sleep. She felt tired, groggy, and irritable, yet still her heart beat as if in the midst of battle as her mind thought of her precious Reimu. It seemed her thoughts were permanently colored red and white.

"I feel like I've wasted an entire day," Remilia spoke out loud to her empty room before letting out a long sigh. "But I suppose sleeping, in itself, would be only slightly more productive than this." The blue haired girl glanced towards her window, praying to see moonlight, or at least traces of a setting sun.

It seemed her own fate, ironically, enjoyed laughing in her face. From what little of the sun Remilia could see through her new, thick curtains, she estimated that the time was roughly still three in the afternoon.

Wonderful.

Remilia frowned deeply as she bit her lip. She wasn't an expert in the sun, mind you, but she had been told, though she could not remember by whom, how to at least estimate the time by it. Even if her prediction was off, it still did not change the fact that sunset was still hours away.

Honestly, she might as well just get out of bet now. It wasn't as if she were going to get any sort of sleep any time soon, and even if she did manage to fall asleep, she would only be able to enjoy a few mere hours before Sakuya came to wake her. That was barely enough time to dream of which she longed for, let alone reenergize herself. Yes, unfortunately she had passed the point where sleep became viable and entered into a point where it was but a pipe dream.

What a cruel world Gensokyo was.

With one final groan, Remilia gathered up what she could of her energy and reluctantly rolled out of bed…

"Umph!"

…and onto the floor, apparently. Obviously the blue haired girl was more tired than she thought. But this floor… Remilia rubbed her cheek against the plush carpet and sighed. The floor was quite comfortable in its own right. Perhaps she could…

No! No. Remilia mentally slapped herself before pushing herself off of the floor abruptly. Even as lovesick as she was, she still had her dignity… at least for now. Sleeping on the floor was far too unbecoming of her, and she refused to stoop so low. Besides, she had already gone over the fact that there was not enough time remaining in the day for her to enjoy a proper day's sleep. She was better off starting her night now, even if the sun still floated there… mocking her.

"You're lucky Reimu likes you," Remilia groggily grumbled towards the window. "You wouldn't be so fortunate if it were up to me."

Oh dear, lack of sleep had jumbled her mind and she was now talking to inanimate objects. What she needed was a nice, long bath then a cup…. _many_ cups of coffee. Sakuya's talk about healthiness be damned.

⑨

"Harder Cirno," a muffled voice panted heavily. "We're almost there."

Remilia stood outside the mansion's bathroom with her jaw hanging agape as her hand hovered over the doorknob frozen in place. Had… she just heard correctly or was her lack of sleep causing her to become delusional as well. Though neither was preferable, she desperately hoped it was the latter.

"I'm… ugh," Cirno's muffed voice called out from within the bathroom. "I'm trying as hard as I can. Isn't there something you can guys can do?"

"I'm… sorry Cirno," another voice panted, this one causing Remilia's hand to jerk away from the door. That voice belonged to Sakuya. "I'm afraid we won't be much help from this position."

"Just keep trying," reassured the original voice, which Remilia now placed as Hong Meiling's. "We're getting close. I can tell."

Oh god… What was going on in there?

"Shut up!" Cirno spat. "I'm the one doing all the work here. Here I am working my tail off while you two just have to relax and stay put."

"Relax?!?" Meiling scoffed. "I think my hands are frozen to this thing!"

Wait, what?

"Quit whining and hold on," Cirno yelled angrily. "I've almost got this thing secure."

Oh… so they weren't… Yes, she was definitely far too tired for her own good if she had thought those three were doing _that_. But… what _were_ they doing in there, anyway? With curiosity getting the better of her, Remilia reached out and pushed open the door.

"Got it!" Cirno cheered from the ceiling as she slowly floated backwards to admire her work. "You guys are lucky I'm awesome. No one else could have done something this cool."

"Yea, cool," Meiling grumbled, panicking slightly. "That explains why I can't let go of this thing. I think I'm stuck!"

Remilia let out a loud sigh of relief at the sight before her.

A lavish, seemingly golden chandelier now hung from the bathroom ceiling, reflecting enough light to give the room a golden hue. Remilia was so awe struck by the new addition that she barely noticed that her three servants were all hovering in the air around the fixture as well. Well… Sakuya and Cirno were the ones hovering. Meiling seemed to be hanging helplessly from the chandelier by her hands, which seemed to be frozen directly to the fixture.

Wait a minute. She was frozen?

"Is that ice?" Remilia couldn't help but wonder out loud, finally alerting the servant trio to her presence.

"My lady!" Sakuya let out a small gasp as her eyes shot downward to the doorway, not expecting the vampire to be awake so early. In the blink of an eye, she flew downward, landing at her mistress's side, assuming something to be the matter. "Is there something amiss, Mistress Remilia?"

"I'm feeling fairly amiss, myself, right about now," Meiling cried from above.

"What's going on?" Remilia questioned, her own curiosity outweighing any concern for the helpless gate guard at the moment.

"We made ice!" Cirno posed with her hands on her hips and she boasted proudly. "It works just like you asked. Do you like it?"

Just like she asked? Now that the ice fairy mentioned it, Remilia suddenly felt rather cool. It was a nice cool, a comfortable cool. It was a pleasant contrast to the far too warm Gensokyo spring. As the noble vampire glanced around the room in awe, she began to notice several other ice formations hanging from the ceiling and along the walls.

They looked more like decorations rather than ice. In fact, some even seemed to disappear if she didn't look directly at them.

How marvelous. Remilia had been dreading hanging icicles, but these… these frozen additions looked as if they belonged.

"They're magnificent," Remilia allowed a genuine smile as she glanced between Sakuya and Cirno. "How did you manage to give the ice such color?"

"_Still_ hanging here."

"It's fairly simple, my lady," Sakuya bowed, though it seemed to Remilia that her bow consisted of a great deal more pride than merely the amount she took in serving her. "I asked Cirno to demonstrate her abilities so that I could better understand how she manages to create ice seemingly out of nothing."

"The little brat wanted to show off to Sakuya by fighting me again," Meiling laughed, in spite of her situation. "I kicked her ass. Trounced her, I tell ya!"

"Shut up you stupid hangman," Cirno kicked the helpless gate guard in the back as hard as she could, which was fairly light by most standards.

"What part of me is a man?!?"

"At any rate," Sakuya continued, "I was confused at how Cirno could create ice without the use of a water medium at first, but after observing her powers for some time, I came to the conclusion that she manages to gather and freeze the moisture in the air to create ice rather than freeze liquid itself. From there, I decided to provide her with a liquid medium containing large amounts of colored dye to see if she could freeze it."

"And this is the result?" Remilia asked.

Sakuya frowned slightly before leaned in closely to her Mistress and whispering so that only she could hear. "After a few hours of attempts, yes. It seems as if Cirno possessed no prior knowledge of exactly how her powers worked. Rather, she used them entirely on instinct. Her first attempts at freezing a large portion of water met with distressing failure. Cirno even proclaimed the task impossible at first. From this, I have come to believe that she houses a great deal more potential than even she realizes. If she is taught, she can become an asset to you."

"I will leave that decision to you," Remilia nodded, earning the same from her head maid. "Though, if you do undergo such a task, I would suggest working on her attitude first, rather than her intellect. It would be troublesome if she became too much of an uncontrolled variable in the future."

"As you wish, my lady."

"Ack!" Meiling cried. "It's starting to feel like I'm about to lose the skin on my palms."

"Hmm…" Sakuya broke away from Remilia and floated up towards the chandelier. As Meiling continued to kick the air beneath her wildly, Sakuya examined the gate guard's hands as she rubbed her chin inquisitively. "I find it quite odd that you've managed to get yourself into this predicament," the head maid observed. "Certainly when we both held the fixture in place it felt cold, but not enough freeze flesh in place like this. Perhaps your side was simply colder than mine."

"Oh that's rich," Meiling shot back sarcastically. "You're telling me this giant thing, something entirely made of ice mind you, has one side colder than the other? I don't believe it. Not unless someone did it on pu-" The gate guards lips pursed suddenly as her eye began to twitch in irritation. Slowly, she glanced back over her shoulder towards a certain mischievous fairy.

Cirno was floating with her hands behind her head as she whistled an innocent tune to herself.

"Oh you think you're funny, don't you," Meiling spat angrily. "Just wait until I get down from here!"

"Looks like you can't dodge now, can you?" Cirno laughed. "I think I'm feeling up for another round of danmaku right about now. What do ya say? The **strongest** always beats the cheaters in the end, after all!"

Remilia supposed she should step in to defuse the situation, as tedious of a task as that sounded. As impressed with their work as the noble vampire was, she couldn't very well take a bath with them in the room. Though she had to admit, the ice fairy had outdone herself with these ice decorations, and she obviously deserved to have a little fun. However, her own desires came first. She needed them out.

"Cirno," Remilia called out with forced patience, "do you think you could let her down, now? I'm sure she's already spent enough time away from her post at the front gate, wouldn't you agree?"

"Fine," Cirno crossed her arms and pouted cutely. However, a devilish grin suddenly appeared on the fairy face and she held up one hand mischievously. Without warning, she snapped her fingers suddenly, and sent the unaware gate guard tumbling to the floor.

"Gahumph!" Meiling groaned as she lay flat on the hard, tiled floor.

"Hah ha!" Cirno snickered, clutching her sides tightly. "I can't believe you fell. Idiot. Idiot! Don't you remember how to fly?"

Meiling's eyes shot open and she glared daggers up at the impish fairy. "You know I'm going to k-" She stopped suddenly before tilting her head to the side with a humorous smirk. "Are those blue, snowflake panties?" The gate guard laughed, causing Cirno to blush vibrant red as her hands shot down, clutching her dress tightly to her in a feeble attempt to hide her undergarments from view. Realizing that Meiling's laughter only intensified the more she failed to cover herself, Cirno allowed herself to quickly drop to the floor with an angry scowl.

"Pervert," Cirno spat.

"Twerp!" Meiling countered as she made her way to her feet. "But seriously," she continued with her previous glare after having risen from the floor, "you know I'm going to kill you, right?"

"He he… he," Cirno laughed nervously as she eyed the very angry gate guard. "About that… gotta go!" She yelled behind her as she hurriedly flew out the door and down the hallway.

"Come back here, brat!" Meiling yelled out as she quickly gave chase, leaving Remilia and Sakuya alone in the bathroom.

Remilia stared at the now empty doorway, failing miserably to hide her smirk. "How odd." That duo was proving to be most entertaining together. Perhaps if she were ever to feel the need for some comic relief, she could assign Cirno as an assistant gate guard for a day. That situation was bound to provide results. Nevertheless, comic relief was not what she had come here for. Shrugging her shoulders, Remilia repressed her smile and turned to face her elegant maid.

"Run me a bath, will you Sakuya."

"Certainly, my lady."

⑨

Remilia let out a low moan as she stretched while soaking in her warm bath, enjoying the soft tingle of the added bathing salts at work. This was exactly what she needed.

Aside from days when she was blessed with the opportunity to have tea alone with Reimu, bathing was the vampire's absolute favorite time of day. Today was especially pleasant, the noble vampire noted. The contrast between the steamy water, the tingling salts, and the cooled air combined to form what she considered her new personal paradise.

It was the simple irony of the action that Remilia enjoyed the most, though. Some cultures still foolishly believed water to be a vampire's weakness, and here she was soaking herself in it with the only adverse effect it appeared to have on her was her pruned fingertips. Perhaps she should have Sakuya cook a dish using garlic this evening so that she could savor it using her collection of silver tableware. That would be the icing on the cake.

Humans could be so ridiculous at times when it came to their unconditional fear of those stronger than them, though Reimu had been different. Whether she had simply been unaware of the various myths revolving around a vampire's weakness or simply didn't believe them in the first place, the shrine maiden hadn't hesitated to serve her tea or offer her various snacks that contained garlic.

Then again, it was entirely possible that Reimu had intentionally been trying to kill her when she first starting visiting her shrine. Though, such an underhanded tactic was unlikely coming from the miko. She possessed power greater than her own, so covert methods were unnecessary. If the she wanted her dead, she could simply do so herself. Reimu was obviously not afraid to get her hands dirty, not after not showing any inkling of hesitation of jumping into the fray whenever an incident occurred.

Remilia frowned slightly, both from the rather unpleasant train of thought and from the realization that the soothing tingle of the bathing salts Sakuya had added had begun to subside substantially. "Have I really been in here that long?" She wondered out loud. Surely if her pruned fingertips were any indication, she had, though it hadn't felt like it. Perhaps she had merely been so relaxed that she lost track of the time. She certainly no longer felt as tired and irritated as she had earlier that day, though the bath itself was most likely responsible for that.

Regardless, the noble vampire did not feel ready to get out of the comforting waters just yet. However, if she was going to remain submerged in the bath, she was going to need more bathing salts.

"Now, where does Sakuya keep those salts?" Remilia wondered to herself as her eyes scanned the large bathroom until they landed on a medium white cylinder on top of a counter. "There you are." The blue haired girl smiled to herself briefly before her expressed changed to a small frown. Sakuya had placed the bathing salts on the counter all the way across the room.

So close and yet so far… Not worth the effort, Remilia mentally shrugged.

True, she could simply get out of the bath and walk across the room to reach the item, but… that would require getting out of the bath. Waning bathing salts or not, Remilia was much too comfortable to even consider such an action.

"I suppose I can do without them," Remilia mumbled to herself as she turned over on her side and nuzzled into the cold, metal brim of the bath. This was nearly as comfortable as the carpet in her room, she thought. She could almost fall asleep right here.

A gentle knock at the door prevented the vampire from testing her theory, though. "Lady Remilia," Sakuya's muffled voice echoed from behind the hardwood door. "Are you still in there?

"I am," Remilia sighed. She supposed she really had been in the bath for longer than she thought if Sakuya were checking up on her.

"May I come in?"

"Of course," the noble vampire shrugged nonchalantly before stretching herself out in the bath once again. She held no qualms about Sakuya seeing her in her current state of undress. The situation might have been embarrassing for her if it was anyone other that Sakuya, though. She trusted very few people in Gensokyo as much as she did her head maid.

Wordlessly and as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Sakuya quickly let herself in and strode swiftly over to her naked Mistress's side. "I've brought you a towel and a change of clothes," she spoke softly as she placed the items on top of a nearby counter. "It seems you neglected to collect either as you left your room."

"I was tired," Remilia admitted truthfully. "I wasn't able to get any sleep today."

"It's important to always find time for a good day's rest, no matter how anxious you might feel about what is to come," the elegant, silver haired woman smiled knowingly.

"I know, I know," Remilia crossed her arms over her chest and turned away with a huff. "Is there anything else?"

"May I wash your hair, Mistress?" Sakuya asked, already kneeling down and reaching for the shampoo.

"You may," the vampire relented knowing Sakuya would start with or without her consent.

A slight frown began to form on Sakuya's lips as she massaged the shampoo onto her mistress's scalp. "When is the last time you washed your hair, my lady? It is rather tangled and unkempt."

Remilia scoffed silently. Of course she would notice.

"Not long ago," the noble vampire lied.

"I see," Sakuya nodded, though it was clear from her tone that she was well aware of her employer's lie.

In truth, Remilia hated tending to her hair. It was just such a hassle when compared to the otherwise leisurely experience of a normal bath. She had relatively short hair, unlike her maid, so one wouldn't normally think the act would take that much effort, but the noble girl hated it nonetheless. The last time her hair had been washed like this was… well… Sakuya had done it over a week ago.

"You really should take better care of your hair, mistress," Sakuya gently chided. "Someone other than yourself might want to enjoy feel it one of these days."

Remilia blushed at the implication and averted her gaze, though noting her maid's valid point nonetheless. Out of the corner of her eye, Remilia could just make out the objects Sakuya had brought into the room with her; perfume and…

"That's not my usual attire," the blue haired girl observed with slightly narrowed eyes. Something was going on.

"I thought you might wish to dress more formally tonight, considering the circumstances," Sakuya explained.

Formally? That meant a long, black dress with a deep, red coat. And perfume?

"Circumstances?" Remilia questioned curiously.

"Lady Marisa arrived a few moments ago," Sakuya explained as she scrubbed the back of Remilia's scalp thoroughly. "Aside from this main bathroom, we have only been able to make use of Cirno's abilities in a few other rooms thus far. The dining room has not been altered as of yet, so I served the guests tea in the lounge instead."

"Guests?" Remilia smiled pleasantly. She was beginning to understand Sakuya's choice in clothing. "I see."

"Yes, my lady." Sakuya nodded as she filled a bucket with water. "There are two. Lady Marisa is here to see Flandre once again, though I informed her that she should wait and seek your permission to wake your sister before doing so rashly."

"I would be surprised if she hadn't taken the liberty of doing so already," Remilia smirked.

"As would I," the head maid agreed, "but I thought it best to properly instruct her in hopes that she would nevertheless comply, though the likelihood is slim."

"And the other one?" Remilia inquired, though she was certain now that she knew the answer.

"The other one," Sakuya said as she dumped the bucket of warm water over her mistress's head, washing away the shampoo suds, "is someone I believe you have been expecting."

As the water cascaded down her drenched hair and over her face, Remilia allowed her existing grin to widen significantly.

"Thank you for tending to my hair, Sakuya. I believe I can wash the rest of myself from here," Remilia said, earning a nod from her maid as she stood to her feet. "I believe your time would be better spent with our guests," she continued. "Make them feel at home until I arrive. I won't be long."

"As you wish, Mistress," Sakuya bowed before turning to leave.

As her maid exited the room, Remilia reached over and grasped the bottle of shampoo Sakuya had used on her just moments before.

Considering the circumstances, once more couldn't hurt.

⑨

Remilia stood hesitantly in front of the large double doors that led to her lounge. As she brushed the wrinkles out of her long, black dress, she couldn't help but suddenly feel self-conscious about her appearance. She certainly did not wear such formal attire often, considering how limited her movements felt while wearing it. As a vampire, Remilia knew how swiftly battle could erupt. Feeling so vulnerable as she did now was not a feeling she was accustomed to.

"The Mistress should be arriving shortly," she heard Sakuya explain from beyond the doors.

She was beginning to feel slightly voyeuristic with how often she found herself listening in from behind the safety of a door these days. With the situation occurring once yesterday and twice so far today, she just hoped the pattern did not continue further. Her head maid would never approve such a bad habit, after all

"Hope she gets here soon, ze," the familiar, rude voice of Marisa grumbled. "I'm getting tired of waiting for that lazy vOUCH! Where do you keep those things?!" The witch cried, undoubtedly nursing her side. "I knew I should have left while you were gone," Remilia barely heard her mumble.

"You have no one to blame but yourself," an… utterly angelic voice rang from the other side of the doors. Oh, Remilia was feeling even more self-conscious now that there was no question as to who was awaiting her. She wished she had more time to properly dry her hair. "It was your idea to come so early."

"Hey! She said I could," Marisa countered. "She told me I could come whenever I wanted."

"That I did," Remilia called out after thrusting open the large, double doors. Self-conscious or not, the noble vampire couldn't resist a perfectly timed entrance. It was just so… her. "An early good evening to both of you," she smiled warmly at her guests.

"Nice threads, ze," Marisa grinned as she raised a hand in greeting, still half cautiously eyeing Sakuya, trying to see where exactly she was putting away that knife.

"Good evening, Remilia," Reimu gave a stolid smile as she sipped her tea, which the silver haired maid most likely provided beforehand. "I like what you've done with the place."

"Yea," the white-black clad witch added. "I like all these new decorations you've got going on in here, but how do you have it feeling so nice?"

"Oh?" Remilia raised an eyebrow humorously. "I don't believe I've ever shown you this lounge, Marisa. I wonder how you're so keenly aware of the difference."

"Ah… So about Flan," the witch changed the topic swiftly. "I hope she doesn't mind me showing up with a black eye still," she pointed at the bruised patch of skin around her right eye. "Reimu didn't let me stop by Eirin's place to snatch something for it."

"One of you has to be responsible," Remilia chuckled. "But I don't believe Flandre will have a problem with it. I'm sure she'll simply be elated that you're even here again. I'm afraid she wasn't in the best of emotional states when she left for bed earlier this morning. We convinced her not to blame herself, but she might be a bit distressed when you appear before her still missing your trademark hat," the noble vampire pointed at Marisa's unencumbered head.

"Yea," Marisa sighed. "Alice said she'd try to fix it soon, but she's been obsessing over Medicine lately. Medicine's not too keen on her yet, but Alice is a firm believer in 'persistence pays off.' It'll probably be a few days before she gets around to it, ze."

"That is a shame," Reimu spoke, looking down at her tea instead of at her friend. "Perhaps you should learn to watch where you're going more closely from now on, especially when you play with the little sister."

"Yea, yea," Marisa brushed off. "Sorry to have worried you, Mom."

"You're hopeless," Reimu scoffed quietly.

"Nah. You just worry too much," the blonde haired magic user teased before turning back to their hostess. "Mind if I head out and track down little Flan? I just can't sit in one place for too long."

"Of course," Remilia nodded. "Sakuya, would you mind escorting Marisa to the basement?"

"Not at all, my lady," the head maid bowed elegantly.

"I don't need an escort, ze," Marisa objected as she stood to her feet.

"I believe the mistress is well aware of how expertly acquainted with this mansion's layout you are," Sakuya explained as she pulled out her knife once again. "I am merely accompanying you to make sure you arrive at the basement safely and not some… other… destination by _mistake_."

"Ah… I see," Marisa laughed nervously. "So… I guess we should head out, then."

"After you, Lady Marisa," Sakuya bowed, clutching the knife mischievously.

Remilia chuckled softly to herself as she watched Sakuya usher out the evidently disappointed witch. It seemed Marisa had opted to arrive early in hopes of stopping by the library before Flandre woke. How disappointed she must be right about now. Patchouli would be happy to note that Sakuya was making it a priority to keep Marisa in line as best she could.

"You didn't tell me you asked Marisa to spend time with Flandre," Reimu stated flatly, interrupting the blue haired girl's thoughts. The miko did not look up at her hostess, but instead continued to stare at her half empty cup of tea. "Imagine my surprise when she came by the shrine this morning sporting a black eye and sans her trademark hat."

Oh dear. As expected, she was angry. Any good friend would be in this situation, Remilia admitted. Yet, she was well aware of this possibility, and was confident that she could overcome such a disadvantage. If she worked carefully, she could even turn it into an advantage.

"I assume Marisa has already explained to you why I asked her to spend more quality time with my sister from now on," the noble vampire stated questioningly.

"She did," the shrine maiden nodded, "right after she explained just how exactly she got hurt."

Remilia sighed as she examined the obviously angry miko. It was necessary to take a step backwards in order to continue moving forwards. She only wished it needn't be, though.

"I am sorry that you had to find out this way," Remilia apologized as she took her seat in an adjacent chair. "And I see that you are upset that Marisa was hurt while helping on my own behest, and for that, I apologize as well."

"As you should," Reimu nodded sternly.

"However, I cannot apologize for requesting her assistance in the first place," Remilia stood firm. "Flandre is the most receptive to Marisa aside from myself, and I needed someone else here to help calm my sister down if things get out of hand."

"And I wouldn't be a good choice for that?"

"No, you would, normally," Remilia sighed. "It's just that Marisa has spent more time with Flandre since the incident with the mist. You've never played with her aside from the one time you fought her. Yes, you would be up for the task, but Flandre trusts Marisa more, and Marisa knows the progress my sister has made since your first encounter with her."

"I am aware of that," Reimu leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. "Marisa talks about her all the time when she's freeloading off of me."

"Then, I hope you can understand-"

"I do understand," Reimu frowned as she lowered her head to look at the vampire next to her. "I just don't understand why you didn't tell me. I thought we were closer than this. Why didn't you tell me?"

"That… was a mistake," Remilia admitted. "I am sorry. I was only thinking of Flandre's sake, and admittedly I overlooked the most important detail," she partially lied. The majority of it had been for this very conversation. She had overlooked nothing. In fact, she had counted on Reimu showing up like this. It was all to get her here in this very room, in that very seat, drinking that very tea, saying those very things. Now, she just had to find a way to get the miko to stay. "If you're uncertain or if you're worried, you're more than welcome to come with Marisa from now on and watch over the two of them. I know you must be hurt, Reimu, but for Flandre's sake, please forgive me."

Reimu let out a long sigh as she once again leaned back in her chair and began to stare at the new ornaments hanging from the ceiling again. "Is that Cirno's work?"

"Reimu…" Remilia said tentatively. "Forgive me."

"It feels like Cirno's doing, but it looks like you got her to do it on purpose. No wonder it felt so nice and cool in here."

"Reimu…"

"It's alright. It's alright. I forgive you," Reimu threw her hands up into the air in defeat before glancing at the vampire apologetically.

…What?

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I… I don't even know why I'm acting like this. I knew you didn't have any bad intentions, and it's not like I can't trust you and Marisa to handle things on your own. I just… I've just been so frustrated all day."

No… No, this wasn't how things were supposed to go, Remilia began to inwardly panic. The plan… the plan was to have Marisa spend time with Flandre until she inevitably got hurt. There was no avoiding that. It was bound to happen, especially since Marisa was here for Flandre's sake, the witch would end up holding back. Marisa being hurt would prompt Reimu to make her grand appearance. Remilia would then convince Reimu to forgive her and also talk her into coming to the mansion more often to make sure nothing went out of hand. Cirno's ice was extra incentive to make "more often" change into "every day" in order for Reimu to have an excuse to get out of the hot sun.

That was the plan! Reimu forgiving her so easily wasn't the plan. It… felt nice, sure, but that wasn't the point. If… If Reimu didn't feel like there was anything wrong, then there would be no reason for her to stay. That… that wasn't what she wanted. Remilia's mind began to move swiftly as her eyes darted back and fort erratically. She had to figure out a way to salvage this.

Reimu let out another sigh before continuing. "Before Marisa arrived this morning, Yukari woke me up to talk."

Damn that old hag! What did she do? This was her fault!

"She's been adamant about…" The miko began rubbing her arms together bashfully. "Well she's been telling me that she… Oh for crying out loud. Everyone in Gensokyo is gay, aren't they?" She yelled, tossing her hands into the air once again.

Remilia blinked… then blinked again. What?

"I… uh," the blue haired vampire stuttered. "I suppose that is the case, for the most part."

"Yukari kissed me the other day," Reimu explained, not noticing how Remilia's grip on the arm of her chair tightened at its mention. "Ever since then, I haven't been able to get it out of my head."

"So…" Oh god. Remilia felt like she was about to bite her tongue. "Do you like Yukari?" She was going to vomit.

"No!" The shrine maiden hastily replied. "At least I don't think so."

Oh thank god.

"I've never actually looked at her like that, or anyone for that matter, man or woman. I don't know if I even like girls."

You will when I'm through with you, Remilia thought as she slowed her breathing to its normal rate. She was calming down now. She just had to keep her cool and reply carefully. All was not lost quite yet. In fact, this might actually be better.

"But now that it's on my mind," Reimu continued, "I can't stop noticing it everywhere. The youkai… they're all gay, aren't they?"

Remilia barely managed to nod.

"I… guess it should have been obvious," Reimu gulped down the remainder of her tea in a vain attempt to soothe her own nerves. "They're all girls after all. The closest guy around is Rinnosuke, and when you consider that… well… I suppose it's not a far fetched idea… being gay."

Remilia would have laughed at that if she were not in such a pragmatic state. Poor Rinnosuke. If he were any other guy, Gensokyo would be paradise. Even being a half youkai didn't win him any favor, though.

"I suppose you have a point," Remilia allowed a small smirk, though it took most of her effort to not outwardly show her current state of distress.

"I mean, now that I look back on it," Reimu thought aloud, "it makes a whole lot of sense. That would explain why Youmu is so devoted to Yuyuko, or how unconditionally devoted Eirin is to Kaguya."

Okay. Remilia took a deep breath. At least it seemed Reimu didn't have a problem with such relationships. She could work with this.

"Or how Sakuya is so devoted to you."

What? No… NO… NO!

"NO!" Remilia practically yelled in protest. "We're not like that! She's my servant!"

"You mean you're not gay?" Reimu questioned with slight disbelief. "I suppose that makes sense, too. You're not originally from Gensokyo, after all."

"No! I am! I mean…" Remilia sighed as she buried her face in her hands. She had lost control. She had to stop. She needed a break. She could still regain control, though, but she needed to breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

The noble vampire took a series of long, deep breaths, ignoring the concerned look on the shrine maiden's face. Calm down… calm down… calm down.

"I've lived a long time, Reimu," Remilia explained having lifted her face from the protection of her hands. "I've learned that the heart might not grow fond of merely the opposite gender. However, Sakuya and I are not fond of each other in that way."

"But you two seem so close," Reimu frowned.

"We are close," Remilia explained, desperately hoping she could correctly convey the right thoughts to the miko. "I trust her as much as I trust you. Not a day goes by when I don't appreciate everything she's done for me. However, appreciation does not equate to that type of affection. I am fond of her, yes, but only as a friend."

"So, you only see her as a friend?"

"Yes," Remilia nodded, thankful that she had been able to smoothly deal with such a severe misunderstanding. That could have ruined everything.

"What if she were to tell you that she liked you?" Reimu questioned as she hugged her legs to her chest solemnly. "What if she kissed you? What if she told you she loved you?"

Remilia saw where this was going. This… yes, she could work with this.

"I would feel awkward," Remilia answered truthfully. "If I didn't feel the same, it would be difficult to look past it, especially since we see each other every day."

"And what if she was persistent? What if she kept pushing the issue even when you refused her?"

"Then I would repeat myself," Remilia stated matter-of-factly. "Over and over again, as many times as it took. However, I would work equally as hard to maintain our friendship. I care about it far too greatly to see it fall."

She wasn't about to tell the poor girl to stop being friends with Yukari. It was a cherished friendship, and this conversation had made her realize that the comparison hit rather close to home. Friends Remilia could deal with, but she wasn't about to give Reimu to Yukari as a lover.

"I see," Reimu leaned back to stare at the ceiling again as she rocked back and forth. "Yukari likes me."

"But you don't like her," Remilia stated.

"No," Reimu sighed, "I don't want to lose her as a friend, but she keeps forcing the subject. She even kissed me again, today."

That bitch, Remilia thought as her eyes narrowed dangerously. She was glad Reimu wasn't looking at her to notice.

"I told her I didn't see her that way, but she kissed me anyway," Reimu frowned.

Perhaps that had been her fault, Remilia pondered. It was possible that her declaration of war had drove Yukari to act out of desperation. It was regrettable that now Yukari had two kisses in her favor, but considering Reimu's reaction, perhaps she could use the situation to her advantage as she initially intended.

"I don't think she's going to give up that easily. It'd," the shrine maiden sighed again as her frown deepened. "It'd be easier if I actually did like her, I think. She's nice… most of the time, and I enjoy being around her. I just think everything would be better if I liked her back."

"But you **don't** like her," Remilia stated plainly. She'd never allow Yukari to talk Reimu into a relationship, and she damn well wasn't about to let the girl talk herself into one.

"I know… But-"

"Have you eaten, dear?" Remilia asked, changing the subject. In truth, her mind was drawing a blank as to how to properly deal with this situation.

"No… I don't think I have today," Reimu's stomach let out a sudden, audible grumble.

"I think your body's saying you definitely haven't," Remilia chuckled, trying to cheer up the miko, if only a little. "Come along, Reimu," the noble vampire stood to her feet and extended a hand to the still seated girl. "Let's head to the kitchen and see if we can't find you something to eat."

Reimu looked up at the vampire with solemn eyes before reaching out an accepting her hand. "Okay," she said softly before allowing her hostess to pull her to her feet. As she was led out of the room, however, she called out barely above a whisper.

"Remilia."

"Yes, Reimu?"

"I'm glad… that I can rely on you."

Remilia clutched at her heart with her free hand. "So am I, dear. So am I."

How was she going to deal with this? The noble vampire mentally sighed as she led the distraught maiden towards her kitchen. She honestly had no idea. One thing was for certain, though.

She needed a new plan.

* * *

So, I start every chapter by writing out an outline of what I want to get done, then I rewrite the outline to include more detail and smaller tidbits that I'd like to add. After that, I begin writing the actual chapter. This, however, is absolutely nothing like the outline I laid out. I started writing, and this is what came out. For better or for worse, I stuck with it. It seems I wanted to write Remilia in a slightly better light this time around. It's going to make connecting it to what I have planned for the rest of the story an interesting task, to say the least.

I kinda poked fun at Rinnosuke a bit in this chapter. Admittedly, I know very little about him, but I figure it's okay to express a bit of creative freedom regarding him since this **is** a fanfic. I thought it'd be funny if all the youkai turned gay because he was their only option, and they collectively said "no thanks."

Also, I have to get this out. It's freaking hard to write interaction between two characters whose names both start with Re. It's far too easy to get them mixed up, especially when they also both have an m and an i in their name. Remi and Reim. Dear god, kill me now. I would not be shocked if you told me I've already mixed them up at one point so far in the fic, though I've managed to catch a lot of my mistakes.


End file.
